Peninnis Lighthouse

Peninnis Lighthouse stands on Peninnis Head, the southern tip of St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly. Trinity House built it in 1911, superseding the St Agnes lighthouse of 1680 as the guide into Hugh Town harbour. It is a small metal tower, 14 m tall, with the upper part painted white and the lower part and cupola black. The light sits 36 m above high water, flashes white every 20 seconds and has a range of 9 nautical miles.

The station was converted from acetylene gas to electric operation in 1992 and now has an LED lantern. It has no keepers and is monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex. The tower is Grade II listed.

The lighthouse is a working navigation light rather than a visitor attraction, but you can see it from the coast path around the headland. Peninnis Head is a short walk from Hugh Town, about 15 minutes by one local guide, and the outcrops of weathered granite on the way have been eroded into unusual shapes. It is an exposed headland, so take a windproof even on a bright day.