Although lighthouses have been around awhile they really only came into their own in the 18th century, and now most have been retired due to modern navigational GPS systems.

European Lighthouses

The Puffin Island Lighthouse on the Anglesey Peninsula in Wales.Someone posted an old photo of this same lighthouse in somewhat rougher weather than we were experiencing!At the lighthouse on Fanad Head in Ireland, the other visitor commented, “There’s a wee sharpness to the wind here.”The Loop Head Lighthouse, also in Ireland, was erected in 1670, and allowed us to go inside and see some of the inner workings.Lighthouse in Petit Fort Philippe in France.We used this map of the lighthouses (faros) on the north coast of Spain to do some lighthouse hopping.
One of the many lighthouses on the north coast of Spain.Fresnel glass, used in lighthouse beacons, in a glass exhibit in Holland.
Dad’s painting of the Pharos Lighthouse in Rhodos, Greece. This ancient lighthouse acted more as an entrance marker than to warn of dangerous shoals.

Pacific Coast Lighthouses

Mukilteo Lighthouse in Washington state, USA.The light from the now-decommissioned lighthouse in the Fort Casey State Park Museum in Washington. Every lighthouse along the Washington coast had a different configuration of lights. Before GPS, lost navigators could tell exactly where they were by checking their ‘lighthouse code’ book.This map shows why lighthouses are so important – look at all the shipwrecks in this relatively small section of Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada.Sheringham Point Lighthouse on Vancouver Island is now a Canadian Heritage site.More on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Two-Syllable ‘L’ Word.