On the 12th May a group of 10 Lighthouse Explorers (and myself) visited Beachy Head and Belle Tout lighthouses in Eastbourne! This was the first Lighthouse Explorers group trip we’ve had thus far, and in my eyes it was a resounding success. By that, I mean no-one outright said that they’d had a terrible time, and I myself enjoyed it greatly.
The Beachy Background
These lighthouses are positioned upon and next to the glorious Beachy Head coastline. Belle Tout was built first in 1832 on the clifftop, but it was recognised as being inefficient as fog covered the light periodically. Additionally, the cliff erosion meant that the effectiveness was reduced due to its proximity to the cliff edge. On our trip to the area, we noted that the cliff erosion is still rampant, semi-recently claiming part of the road leading up to the lighthouse. Fortunately, thanks to all of the tattered tape barriers scattered around, we all managed to stay firmly atop the cliff.
Building the Beachy Head Lighthouse
Beachy Head lighthouse was built in 1902 to replace Belle Tout. Instead of being built high up on the cliff, it sits just above the waves out at sea. When it was first built, it was around 550 feet away from the cliffside. It seems silly to say how many feet away it is currently, as due to the aforementioned erosion it’ll likely be increasing year on year.
We were unable to walk down the beach and get closer to the lighthouse as the tide was in for the entirety of the afternoon. When you take that into consideration, you may wonder how on Earth they built the lighthouse in the first place! The Beachy Head lighthouse website has these fabulous photos of the build:
Long story short, a cable rope-way system ferried men, equipment and resources to and from the build. A platform was built next to the lighthouse from which they could slowly but surely create the glorious tower you see today.
Finishing the tour
Our trip took us over the cliffs and down to Birling Gap, where we had some respite from the hike. After a brief laze on the beach, we headed up back over the hills and grabbed an ice cream from the Belle Tout ‘café’. Propelled on by sugar and too much dairy, we finally made it back to the Beachy Head pub, for a well-deserved pint.
Thank you to all of our attendees who came along, and I hope you all enjoyed it! If you missed out this time, keep an eye out for the next trip which will be at Dungeness lighthouse. This group adventure will be taking place in June (exact date TBD), but you can follow Lighthouse Explorers on our Eventbrite page to find out more!
See you soon Explorer!
Lighthouse Explorers 