PORTLAND LIGHTOUSES
There are three lighthouse buildings at the southern tip of the "Isle of Portland" Dorset. Only one is functional. This 41m tall lighthouse was built in 1906, its light being 43m above mean high water; the light has an intensity of 635,000 candela and a range of 25 nautical miles (46.3km).
A hazard to navigation, the "Portland Race" is caused by tides between "Portland Bill" and the "Shambles" sandbank situated about 3 miles (7km) to the south-east causing dangerous and continuous strong currents seen from shore as an area of white water. The "Shambles" is marked to navigation by a red-sector light from Portland Bill lighthouse.
The optics of Portland Bill lighthouse are unusual. The arrangement of panels in the light's lenses gradually changes the flashes from one to four between the bearings 221 degrees and 244 degrees, and from four to one between bearings 117 degrees and 141 degrees.
Portland Bill Lighthouse and Coastguard cottages adjacent to the right. The huge 7m tall white-painted stone obelisk to the left of the lighthouse is a visual warning to shipping of a rock shelf extending 30 metres south into the sea. It was built in 1844.
In 1996 this lighthouse was fully automated and is now controlled and monitored from Trinity House's Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex (ca 350 km away on the east coast). ("Trinity House" was formed by Charter awarded by King Henry VIII in May 20th 1541 to regulate pilotage on the river Thames. It is now the largest endowed maritime charity and among other duties and is responsible for lighthouses around England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).
The two other lighthouses were built in 1896 and ceased to function in 1906 when the new light was commissioned. These are the "Old Upper Light" and "Old Lower Light" so called because one is situated on higher ground than the other! To confuse matters, the "Upper Light" is about half the height of the "Lower Light."
The "Old Upper Light" was converted into a private residence and once owned by Dr Maire Stopes (see previous entry). It is still a private house, and in addition offers luxury holiday accommodation with swimming pool and the modern replacement "light" forming a lounge. The "Old Lower Light" is now "Portland Bill Bird Observatory" - its rooms and associated cottage converted into hostel self-catering accommodation - excellent value at £20 per night per person.
During the late 1980's and early 1990's I used to stay at the Bird Observatory for one week during May using it as my base for investigating the entomology of the County. At that time the working lighthouse was manned and had a "fog horn" which gave an audible warning to shipping during poor visibility (a function now replaced by digital GPS based alternatives). Although directed out to sea, the sound of the horn was terrific - in the Bird Observatory about 0.5km away, rings of ripples would form on the surface of my cup of tea at each blast. There was no way of avoiding the sound - I could not walk over and ask the Officer to turn the volume down! The horn sounded every 90 seconds. Once, when staying with a friend, the horn blasted from 18:50 through the night until 08:35 next morning. After a while for me the sound became part of the background noise and did not disturb me. My friend next morning was almost insane, red-eyed, stressed out, no sleep.
The Isle of Portland viewed from the south, its extreme southern tip is "Portland Bill" Lighthouses indicated. The white areas are Portland Stone quarries. At the top of the photo is the Dorset "Jurassic Coast."
A hazard to navigation, the "Portland Race" is caused by tides between "Portland Bill" and the "Shambles" sandbank situated about 3 miles (7km) to the south-east causing dangerous and continuous strong currents seen from shore as an area of white water. The "Shambles" is marked to navigation by a red-sector light from Portland Bill lighthouse.
The optics of Portland Bill lighthouse are unusual. The arrangement of panels in the light's lenses gradually changes the flashes from one to four between the bearings 221 degrees and 244 degrees, and from four to one between bearings 117 degrees and 141 degrees.
Portland Bill Lighthouse and Coastguard cottages adjacent to the right. The huge 7m tall white-painted stone obelisk to the left of the lighthouse is a visual warning to shipping of a rock shelf extending 30 metres south into the sea. It was built in 1844.
In 1996 this lighthouse was fully automated and is now controlled and monitored from Trinity House's Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex (ca 350 km away on the east coast). ("Trinity House" was formed by Charter awarded by King Henry VIII in May 20th 1541 to regulate pilotage on the river Thames. It is now the largest endowed maritime charity and among other duties and is responsible for lighthouses around England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).
The two other lighthouses were built in 1896 and ceased to function in 1906 when the new light was commissioned. These are the "Old Upper Light" and "Old Lower Light" so called because one is situated on higher ground than the other! To confuse matters, the "Upper Light" is about half the height of the "Lower Light."
The "Old Upper Light" was converted into a private residence and once owned by Dr Maire Stopes (see previous entry). It is still a private house, and in addition offers luxury holiday accommodation with swimming pool and the modern replacement "light" forming a lounge. The "Old Lower Light" is now "Portland Bill Bird Observatory" - its rooms and associated cottage converted into hostel self-catering accommodation - excellent value at £20 per night per person.
During the late 1980's and early 1990's I used to stay at the Bird Observatory for one week during May using it as my base for investigating the entomology of the County. At that time the working lighthouse was manned and had a "fog horn" which gave an audible warning to shipping during poor visibility (a function now replaced by digital GPS based alternatives). Although directed out to sea, the sound of the horn was terrific - in the Bird Observatory about 0.5km away, rings of ripples would form on the surface of my cup of tea at each blast. There was no way of avoiding the sound - I could not walk over and ask the Officer to turn the volume down! The horn sounded every 90 seconds. Once, when staying with a friend, the horn blasted from 18:50 through the night until 08:35 next morning. After a while for me the sound became part of the background noise and did not disturb me. My friend next morning was almost insane, red-eyed, stressed out, no sleep.
The Isle of Portland viewed from the south, its extreme southern tip is "Portland Bill" Lighthouses indicated. The white areas are Portland Stone quarries. At the top of the photo is the Dorset "Jurassic Coast."