Valentia Lighthouse

I have a fascination for lighthouses. As people well know, they were used as navigation aids for ships. This is to help sailors know their position as well as avoid dangerous rocks which may be near the area. Lighthouses used to be very useful however, their usefulness has been superseded by the advent of satellite navigation. Even phones people carry in their pockets have more use than a lighthouse. Fortunately, the lighthouses still stand if only as a relic from the past. Valentia Lighthouse is one which is set at a rather odd location. I would have thought that the lighthouse would be put as further west as possible but this was much more inland than I thought it would be.

Looking at the map, it is possible that the lighthouse was put there to help ships navigate a narrow strait between Valentia Island and Beginish Island en route to Valentia Harbour. I struggled to get a proper photo of the lighthouse since the view point for the lighthouse was quite far from the structure itself. The powerful winds whipping the area only made it worse. There was parking outside the lighthouse and I was glad to see it open for visits. There is an minimal entrance fee here.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/ValentiaIsland.kmz} zoom=19]