Anvil Point Lighthouse, Navigation lighthouse in Durlston Country Park, Dorset, England
Anvil Point Lighthouse is a stone tower standing about 40 feet (12 m) tall on the cliffs of Durlston Country Park in Dorset, England. It is fitted with a rotating optic system that sends a white flash across the English Channel.
Trinity House built the lighthouse in 1881 to help ships avoid the dangers of Christchurch Ledge and Portland Bill. Over the following decades the site was updated with new equipment, but it has remained an active aid to navigation ever since.
The lighthouse takes its name from Anvil Point, the rocky headland it stands on along the Jurassic Coast. Visitors can walk around the grounds today and look out over the English Channel from one of the most exposed stretches of the Dorset coast.
The lighthouse is accessible on foot through Durlston Country Park via coastal paths, some of which cross uneven ground. Weather on this exposed section of coast can change quickly, so sturdy footwear and a wind layer are worth bringing.
In 1894 a fog signal system was installed that used a small cannon to fire warning blasts into the air automatically. This type of explosive fog signal was uncommon at British lighthouses at the time and was later replaced by more conventional equipment.
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