The Needles Lighthouse A0528, Isle of Wight UK
The Lighthouse in the old days and now with the new helicopter platform
Latitude 50 Deg 39.7 Min N
Longitude 1 Deg 35.4 Min W
Established 1786
Height of tower 31 meters
Elevation 24 meters
Character Oc (2) WRG 20s
Range W 17 M; R 14 M; G 14 M
The Needles tower was lighted on the 29th September 1786. The light was often obscured by mist and therefore of limited use. In 1859 Trinity House planned a new lighthouse to be built on the outermost of the chalk rocks near sea level. It was designed by James Walker and cost £20,000. The circular granite tower stands on an unevenly stepped base to break the waves and discourage sea sweeping up the tower. Much of the base rock was cut away to form the foundation, and cellars and storehouses were excavated in the chalk. A helipad was built on top of the Needles Lighthouse in 1987. The Needles Lighthouse was automated in 1994, the keepers left the lighthouse for the last time on 8th December. Needles was the last Trinity House lighthouse powered by 100V DC electricity from it's own generators; to enable the automation to be carried out mains power has been supplied via a sub-sea cable from the Needles Battery, which provides 240V AC power for the new equipment.
In May 2008 we took a boat trip with
our friend Kim out to the lighthouse.
We drove to Landsend, entered the theme park, took the lift down to the landing stage...
 ... where the boat was waiting for passengers |
We saw the multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay
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|  As you can see, Kim and Stan are smiling on the trip to the Needles Lighthouse 
The
chalk cliffs are a marvelous sight in the beautiful sunshine
If you look closely, you can see openings in
the chalk cliff. They are gun positions and belong to the old Needles Battery.
This
bad picture of the lighthouse was taken from the ramparts of Hurst Castle
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