Thursday 3 October 2013

Corbière lighthouse, Jersey

Corbière Lighthouse
La Corbière is the extreme south-western point of Jersey in St. Brelade. The name means "a place where crows gather", deriving from the word corbîn meaning crow. However, seagulls have long since displaced the crows from their coastal nesting sites.
The lighthouse is situated on a rock that is a tidal island. A causeway links the lighthouse to shore at low tide. There is an alarm to warn visitors to clear the causeway as the tide rises; still, there have been casualties among the unwary or unlucky. A plaque adjacent to the causeway commemorates Peter Edwin Larbalestier, assistant keeper of the lighthouse, who was drowned on 28 May 1946, while trying to rescue a visitor cut off by the incoming tide.
The lighthouse tower is 19 m (62 ft) high and the lamp stands 36 m (119 ft) above high water spring tides. It was lit on 24 April 1874, for the first time, and was the first lighthouse in the British Isles to be built of concrete.[citation needed] The lighthouse was built to designs by Sir John Coode. The beam has a reach of 18 nmi (33 km), and was automated in 1976.
The lighthouse at La Corbière is one of the most photographed landmarks in Jersey and is a popular tourist site for its panoramic views. In the evenings the surrounding area provides an ideal viewing point for sunsets.
 Thank you so much Tom for this beautiful of the lighthouse over the rocks!
Sent: 28 September   Received: 3 Oct 2013   Travelled: 5 days