Sadly, we no longer have manned lighthouses today. But I would love to have worked for the lighthouse service, for a few years at least. It was a great way of life, combining an import public service with lots of time to read, think and enjoy the fresh coastal air.
by Ticklishchap
12 comments
It might not be a bad life now with internet and streaming services.
Before the internet it was a lonely existence especially if it was a remote island location.
Some lighthouses were manned by two men. In those cases you better hope your fellow lighthouse keeper was someone you can get on with.
Otherwise you may end up dying in mysterious ways which is what happened to one unfortunate pair.
*Memory unlocked*
Anyone else remember [Portland Bill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49AgCtprDYY)
Personally the thought has crossed my mind of those of lighthouse conversions as I really do like being by the sea.. especially with technology as it is now. But then you have more considerations beyond your own wants/needs.
Have you heard of the mystery of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannan_Isles_Lighthouse
Curious case that one
Yep. I want to own a decommissioned lighthouse. And I want to live at the top. And nobody knows I live there. And there’s a button that I can press and launch that lighthouse
# into space.
Lighthouse finder?
Lighthouse keeper!
I say.
Pretty sure that’s Roy Scheider before he captained Seaquest DSV.
Being stuck on my own all day with nothing to do? Nah.
Absolutely. I grew up in Cornwall (which has a bunch of them for obvious reasons) and always used to imagine what it must have been like living out to sea somewhere like bishop or wolf rock.
Fun fact, Falmouth‘s St Anthony‘s Lighthouse was used for the exterior shots of the UK version of Fraggle Rock.
If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to check this YouTube channel out.
[https://www.youtube.com/@PeterHalil](https://www.youtube.com/@PeterHalil)
It’s a fascinating insight into what it was like to be a keeper before automation.
I used to be in the Merchant Navy, and now I am in HM Coastguard. I too sometimes wish I could have been a lighthouse keeper.
I knew a former lighthouse keeper, for the USA. It was him and one other, stationed on an island.
They stopped being sent ammunition fairly early on, as there wasn’t much to do but shoot at fish.
But all that aside, yeah, that’s the dream, isn’t it?
Presumably this chap works in isolation, turning the big light on and making phone calls. Why the uniform?