Discover the Lighthouse

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International Lighthouse Day is the one day in the year when the importance and the role of lighthouses, and all other aids to navigation, are brought to the attention of the general public, not only in the UK but also worldwide.  This year the Acetylene Room, adjacent to the Hurst Point Lighthouse close to Hurst Castle at the end of the Spit, will be open from 1100 to 1630 on Saturday 18th August. Tours lasting about 20 mins will be provided by members of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers (ALK) to give an insight into the operation of this facility from 1922 to 1965. The tours are free but, as usual, any donations would be gratefully received.

The two lighthouses on the Hurst Spit, the tall tower and the small one on the Castle wall, were originally powered by oil lights and the keepers tending them lived in cottages attached to the lighthouse.  In the early days, the Castle was a military garrison and the keepers were not allowed inside the Castle to tend to the low light sitting on the Castle wall.  A door in the outside of the wall was provided and accessed via an external staircase. Trinity House, who manage all the lighthouses in England and Wales, are always striving to provide better lights and, in the 1920s, acetylene gas was developed for use in vehicle lights and also for lighthouses.  To light the lamp in a lighthouse quite a large quantity of gas was required and so, at Hurst Castle, a special facility was built to manufacture the gas, and this is what you will see described if you visit Hurst on International Lighthouse Day.  The lights at Hurst were lit with acetylene gas from 1922 to 1998, after which the Lighthouse was fully automated and illuminated by a battery powered electric light.

It is regretted that Hurst Point lighthouse will not be open but, on this special weekend, other lighthouses will be open where you will be able to climb to the top to admire the view.  The nearest such lighthouses are at Portland Bill and St Catherine’s on the Isle of Wight.  They are  open on Sunday 19th August so why not make a weekend of it and visit the Acetylene Room on Saturday and either Portland or St Catherine’s Lighthouses on Sunday.

Access to the Acetylene Room is via Hurst Ferries, which run every 20 minutes from Keyhaven, or you can walk along the spit from Keyhaven, a distance of some 1¼ miles.  Refreshments are available in the Gatehouse of Hurst Castle but it is regretted that you will have to pay the Castle entrance fee to gain access to the Castle Café – unless you are a member of English Heritage or a member of the Friends of Hurst Castle, in which case don’t forget to bring your membership card.

International Lighthouse Day – Saturday 18th August 2012

For additional information see:
www.alk.org.uk/events.html
www.hurstcastle.co.uk/lighthouse.html

or email: hurst@alk.org.uk | Telephone 01329 843883 or 07778 520059