A light distraction to the serious article yesterday!

My son mentioned the other day that a rather unusual property is for sale in North Devon, SW England.  What’s unusual about it?  Well the picture below answers that question!

Not a bad view, is it!  The lighthouse, or rather ex-lighthouse, depending in which direction one is looking, has the start of the Bristol Channel off to the right, or the Atlantic Ocean directly ahead with the Island of Newfoundland being the next stop Westwards.

The island seen on the horizon in the picture is Lundy Island, a granite outcrop, three and a half miles long and half a mile wide.  As an aside, I can recall a fly-in to Lundy many years ago.  Went there in the Piper Super Cub and the landing and take-off were ‘interesting’.

Back to Hartland Point Lighthouse.  Thanks to WikiPedia, we learn that,

Hartland Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building at Hartland Point Devon, England.  The point marks the western limit (on the English side) of the Bristol Channel Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west.

Built in 1874 by Mr. Yerward of Wales under the direction of Sir James Douglass, the tower is 18 metres (59 ft) tall with the lamp being 37 metres (121 ft) above mean sea level. The light can be seen up to 25 miles (40 km) away from the coast. It is protected by a 30 metres (98 ft) long sea wall which was built in 1925 to prevent erosion of the rocks on which it stands.

It was blessed by Frederick Temple, Bishop of Exeter, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, and the light was lit for the first time by Lady Stuckley of Hartland Abbey during the opening ceremony on July 1, 1874.

The tower was automated in 1984 and is now controlled from Trinity House Operations Centre at Harwich in Essex. Prior to automation the lighthouse was built with accommodation for four keepers and their families. The keepers’ dwellings have since been demolished to make room for a helipad to be constructed. This was necessary due to the precarious nature of the access road which is liable to frequent rock falls and landslips. Vehicular access is now very difficult and the gates tend to remain locked. The large concrete structures immediately to the south of the lighthouse were to provide the keepers with fresh water.

In the 2010 Aids to Navigation Review, by Trinity House, they proposed to discontinue the Hartland Point Lighthouse Station on grounds that the rocks that it sits on is eroding away.

So if you are looking for that really special room with a view, this could be it!  The agency selling the Lighthouse are Smithsgore and the details, including a guide price of £500,000, may be found here.