Pendeen Lighthouse

 

Pendeen Lighthouse

Pendeen Lighthouse, also known as Pendeen Watch

 is an active aid to navigation and is sited north of the 

village of Pendeen in west Cornwall, England, 

United Kingdom.

Visit Date March 2023

Click on any image for larger view

Pendeen Lighthouse lies Only six miles north of Land's End and is close to the small and very pretty village of St Just, which thrived during the Tin and Copper mining era in the 1900s.

The construction of the lighthouse started in the 1890s and was designed by Sir Thomas Mathews for Trinity House (Trinity House is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers) and constructed by Arthur Carkeek from Redruth.

The headland needed to be flattened to accommodate the 17-metre tower and associated buildings.

The light was first lit on 3 October 1900

A foghorn is also sighted here with twin 5-inch sirens driven initially by compressed air from an oil engine.

A five–wick Argand lamp provided the initial power for the lighthouse but the lamp was soon replaced with a 3-50mm dia. mantle lamp

The lens system was a large (first-order) rotating optic made up of two sets of four panels, which displayed a group of four flashes every fifteen seconds, it had a range of 20 nautical miles and is still in use.

Click on any image for a larger view

The coast of this area is treacherous to shipping. Along the coast, the remnants of the once thriving mining in the area can be seen. 

In the 1990s it was decided that the lighthouse would become automated and the last of the lightkeepers left the lighthouse on May 3rd 1995.

The lighthouse, together with the attached keepers' cottages, are Grade II listed,

Built within the North Cornwall Coast within a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is sited on one of the many granite headlands bird watching is popular here as is seal and dolphin spotting. Being north-west facing is a perfect location to watch the sun setting over the Atlantic.

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Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
50.16498077682171, -5.671545986771646

What Three Words reference: -
///cheeses.cabs.zooms

OS Details: -
SW 37890 35891 : Altitude:52 m

Additional information.

There is parking here (50.164339321872106, -5.670764521122517) for a half a dozen cars or so and the place is easy to visit.
Off the B3306 the lighthouse is signposted from the road.
There are no facilities at the site.

A full list of blogs can be found at my website

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Culver Hole

   

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C u l v e r   H o l e

Legends and tales of smugglers and pirates.

The rugged coast of South Wales has seen many shipwrecks and is well was well known for its rough and dangerous coastlines. What better place than these unwelcoming bays to try and bring booty and contraband ashore away from the H. M Customs men? This well-hidden man-made structure is surrounded by the mystery and legends of ancient pirates and smugglers that came ashore on the South Wales coast.

Visit Date August 2022

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"Culver Hole" is well hidden and difficult to access so it is understandable that it is easy to pass by and not notice it from the cliffs above.

It is accessible by the low tide and it is quite a distance down the cliff to get to it. Or perhaps possible along the beach from the small port of "Port Eynon", easier, of course, if you are on a small boat.

Given its location, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many tales and legends of smugglers are related to it.

The structure of the site settled in its small cove which is only around 4 meters wide consists of a 16m high wall which is 3.6meters thick at the base.

One such legend states that it was used by a powerful local brigand, John Lucas who used it as a storehouse for his ill-gotten gains. There is also a tale that there was a tunnel, big enough to ride a horse through, for over a quarter of a mile to a local "Salthouse" (more on that in another blog).

While it might be true that "Culver Hole" was used in the 17th Century by these dangerous and ruthless men the original use of the structure is more mundane.

The structure, built in the 13th or 14th century is listed as a Dovecot on Coflein (a catalogue of archaeology sites, buildings and monuments in Wales) and that is most likely what this structure is.

Internally it has around 30 tiers of nesting boxes cut into the walls and a narrow stairwell.

It might seem very strange for a dovecot to be placed here and so it is but in the times when this was built doves, pigeons, and their eggs were an important source of food.

The name also would support this as the name Culver derives from the old English word Culfre which means pigeon.

Even given all this, there are still some oddities about this structure. Firstly it seems strange that the holes are so big. Normally you would have a door on a dovecote but the windows are very large for a dovecote, also the location of a beach seems strange. 

There are some historical mentions of the site.

There is some thought that it may have been attached to a castle at some time and there are records of "The Castle of Port Eynon" being mentioned in a lawsuit in 1396.  but there is no evidence of a castle on this site. 

There is a minister's account dated 1429 of a dovecote in the clyve at Penard,

Also, the aforementioned John Lucas is found in a document that states he is said to have repaired a stronghold called Kulvered Hall.

Whatever the uses of the "Culver Hole" it must have seemed a very bleak place in a winter storm, however, there can be no denying that its location on a good day is breathtaking.

Thank you for visiting this blog.

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Visit Information:-

Google Reference

51.5392344199753, -4.214123775586852

What Three Words reference : ///comments.youths.months

Culver Hole can be visited but must be done so with great care and at low tide.

About a quarter of a mile from here there is a large public car park (51.54431040120058, -4.2118757381346805) which is adjacent to a caravan and camping holiday site. There is also public toilets and a café, shop and take away.

You can walk from the car park alongside the camp site until you reach the Youth Hostal. The path then takes you right and up the side of the hill but a better course is to walk on to the "Salt House". From here you can look up to the hill and see the marker stone in the last image. If you take the footpath up to this and then go along the cliff for a few hundred yards until you see a stone coast path marker. The path is just opposite this but is narrow and steep. The last few yards are difficult as you will be climbing down the rocks at the bottom. It is passable with care.

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WW2 Pillbox on Kenfig Sands

 Visit Date 05-2022: . 

About 28,000 pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications were constructed in Britain in 1940 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations for World War II. About 6,500 of these structures still survive. Along the beach at Kenfig sands is the remains of one of these abandoned structures.

A pillbox is a type of brick, block, or concrete dug-in guard-post, normally equipped with slits of gaps through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, and is usually raised to improve the field of fire.

The modern concrete pillbox originated on the Western Front in the German Army in 1916.

The pillbox on Kenfig sands is built of brick with a concrete roof and was buried in the sands here for many years but is now being exposed once again.

Kenfig is near the sea and has always been at the mercy of the drifting sand dunes in the area. Just a few miles down the coast from here a bronze age settlement grew over the years and a Norman castle was built on the site only for the village to be abandoned when the sand could no longer be held back. The keep of the castle is all that is left to be seen at the site.

A few years ago the UK "Time Team" made a TV episode of their archaeological dig on this area and the report is available and the programme is available for some countries.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team/articles/series-19/kenfig-dig-report/492

The position of this pillbox is not recorded as far as I can tell but I am now attempting to add it to Google maps.

There are different thoughts on the origin of the name pillbox he most likely is that with their slots they resemble post pillar boxes, however, it is also thought that as many were round that they resembled actual medicine pill boxes.

The positioning of this is only 2.5 miles (as the crow flies) away from the radar station above Port Talbot that I mentioned in an earlier blog that you can find here.

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Visit Information:-
Google Reference
51.53316706915935, -3.760472908611369

What Three Words reference:-
///crackling.librarian.prospers

OS Grid Ref
SS 77989 83050

Additional information.
Visiting is not so easy as you will need to be able to walk some distance.

The easiest way would be to park in Kenfig Nature reserve (51.51591341284918, -3.7282361412960436) and then walk to the beach and then west on the beach ( 3miles)

Another route would be to park near Maudlam Church (51.52390184618248, -3.722235803836141) and walk across Kenfig Burrows (3.5 miles)

A third option might be to park around Kenfig industrial estate. (51.533298360212996, -3.737641631660293) A much shorter 1.3 miles. But a little more complicated route.

Thank you for visiting this blog.

If you would like more information on this location please feel free to contact me.

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Porthcawl Lighthouse

Visit Date : August 2020

Since the widespread use of digital cameras and smartphones, Porthcawl Lighthouse has become famous at certain times of the year.

The lighthouse is situated on the breakwater to Porthcawl and as such when there are high winds and especially when combined with high tides the scene at this lighthouse with the breaking water over the lighthouse is now a staple on TV and newspapers. The scene is easily accessible from the main promenade and a quick internet search for this lighthouse will lead to many such images.

But this is not how I see, or remember Porthcawl lighthouse. Living less than 20 miles from this seaside town I remember the lighthouse bathed in the summer sun on warm balmy seaside trips.

Lately, we have had some good morning forecasts and this day was one.

With the breeze light and the chance of some good sky, I set off before sunrise to try and capture the lighthouse in a different light (Pun intended).

I was happy with the resulting images I took.

The 30-foot lighthouse was built in 1860 and the lamp was washed away in a great storm in 1902.

Originally the lighthouse was coal powered and then converted to run on Gas.

In 1974 the lamp was converted to run on "North Sea Gas" a natural gas. When the engineer arrived to convert the lamp he was told that there wasn't a switch to turn off the lamp but that it was left burning 24 hours a day. He also recalled that the lighthouse gas supply had previously been paid for by a coin meter that constantly had to be fed with "pennies" every day, that was until the meter was converted to take shillings! This meant that the harbourmaster would often have to brave the elements and rough conditions to "feed the meter" to ensure mariners safety.

This was not in use at the time of the conversion but was still in the lighthouse.

Eventually, the lighthouse was upgraded to electric in 1997 and after a £70,000 renovation in 2013, was fitted with its new £12,000 automatic, low energy, LED lamp, which can be seen 10 nautical miles away, the same distance the old gas lamp shone.

The lighthouse was the last coal and gas-powered lighthouse in the UK, and is now protected as it is a grade two listed building.

OK so now for the "iconic view"

Since converting to digital some time ago I have not taken the popular "storm Picture" of the lighthouse although many years ago, perhaps over 25 years ago I had a second hand Canon EOS 650 film camera. It was the first camera I had that was not "point and shoot". My results were varied, to say the least with most of my efforts being in the "hopeful" range.

I shot lots and lots of film then, and I have lots of the images still boxed up and stored around the house but the following image of the Porthcawl Lighthouse was one of the better shots and perhaps is the reason I have not tried to repeat it

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Visit Information:-

Google Reference
551.47310273328761, -3.6997247977996683

Google Search reference: Porthcawl Lighthouse

What Three Words reference : ///ramps.crisis.unhelpful

Additional information

As Porthcawl is a seaside town visiting this site is easy with lots of car parking and amenities.

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Golden Hour at Ogmore Beach

Visit Date: October 2020 - (A PB Repost)

Despite all the great advice, I am not one who necessarily chases for the best light. I would say that I prefer to visit places and take the best photographs I can with what's available.

Although I love photography perhaps equally the "getting out" and enjoying the experience is what I'm after.

If a get a shot that I am happy with that's great if not? Well, there's always next time.

However last weekend the late evening light had been so good that I decided to visit one of the local beaches at "Golden Hour".

The area was very busy despite that we have not been out of lockdown very long and the number of people present made me a little uncomfortable, so the experience was not as good as I hoped, however, I thought I did get some good shots (IMHO).

I don't usually post multiple images of the same scene but in the short space of time, the scene did change.

I hope you like them.

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Visit Information:-

Google Reference
51.45747282502195, -3.6335104586689715

Google Search reference: Ogmore beach / Ogmore-by-sea

What Three Words reference : ///spine.packages.renovated

Additional information

Visiting Ogmore beach is very easy with car parks located on the beach and along the road.

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