Trinity House, the lighthouse authority for England, Wales and the Channel Islands, is to hoping to attract tourists to its properties by reopening many sites to the public and converting old lighthouse keepers' cottages into holiday homes.
Most of the lighthouses had previously been open to visitors when they were manned, but were closed when they became automated.
By Easter, 11 lighthouses will be welcoming tourists again – Longstone in Northumberland, Flamborough Head in North Yorkshire, Southwold in Suffolk, North Foreland in Kent, St Catherines on the Isle of Wight, Alderney in the Channel Islands, Portland Bill in Weymouth, Start Point in south Devon, Lizard and Pendeen in Cornwall and South Stack in Anglesey, north Wales.
Other lighthouses out of the 72 Trinity House is responsible for may also be reopened later in the year.
Further initiatives to attract visitors include a new website and a series of guide books featuring the location and history of the lighthouses.
The organisation is also in the process of applying for a £1.2m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to build a new £1.5m visitor centre at Lizard Lighthouse.
“The centre will be based in the old engine room,” said a spokesperson, “we will be using the existing space and interpreting it with displays and audio-visual facilities to show what lighthouse life was like at the turn of the 20th century.
“A separate building will house a classroom and educational facilities for school parties.
“We will also be improving facilities for disabled visitors. As the stairs to the top of the lighthouse are narrow and winding, we will be putting cameras in which can be controlled by visitors, so those unable to climb the stairs can still enjoy the view.”
Trinity House is also planning to apply for a European Regional Development grant for the project, which has been designed by engineers at Trinity House and is expected to open by Easter 2005.
The organisation has also said it may look to add visitor centres at other lighthouse sites, such as South Stack, where there is room to do so, however, the most important consideration was not affecting the traditional character of the properties. Details: www.lighthouse-visits.co.uk
