Flamborough Lighthouse

Number 38 on my 50 Before 50 list is Climb Flamborough Lighthouse, so that's what I did.

When we dropped Eleanor off at university on the 23rd of September, I decided that I needed to keep myself busy for a week or two until I got used to the peace and quiet in the house. It was a coping mechanism so that I didn't succumb to empty nest syndrome and it's definitely worked. Daniel and his girlfriend were at home that first weekend but the following weekend was the first one Mick and I were to spend alone so on the Saturday we took care of some jobs and errands which needed attending to and as the Sunday dawned bright and sunny, we decided to head off to the coast for the day. We started off in Flamborough.

Tours of the lighthouse take place every half hour and I was really lucky, a large group had just been shown around as I entered, however, there was only me on my tour. Mick kept his feet on the ground as we had Archie with us. I got a guided tour all to myself and the tour guide was so knowledgeable and interesting, it was a brilliant experience.

I've visited the lighthouse on a number of occasions, the most recent being last year and I wrote about it in my Flamborough Head post with a bit of information about the lighthouse too. I've never been inside the lighthouse before though, and never climbed the 119 steps, I don't have a head for heights so this was going to be a bit of a challenge.

I was a little nervous at first given my fear of heights but it was fine, it was only as I started climbing the last few steps where the walls kind of narrow that I felt rather claustrophobic but that soon passed. It was certainly worth it for the view.

This is looking out at the fog horn station. The fog horn was sounding the last time we were there but there was no need for it this time.

Here you can see an emergency standby lamp which is mounted on the gallery of the tower. This is used should the main light and all backup lamps and power sources fail. It can be seen at a reduced distance but can be used until the problem with the main light can be fixed.

Looking back towards Flamborough, you can see the old chalk tower lighthouse which is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in England. It was designed for a fire to be burnt on top, though there's no evidence that it was ever lit.

I was really pleased that I conquered my fear and made it to the top, that's the first thing that I can cross off my 50 Before 50 list.

Afterwards, we headed in to Bridlington, a place we've been many, many times before. It's somewhere I remember being taken as a child and it's somewhere we've taken our own children. This time it was just Mick and I, oh, and Archie too. The dog ban on the beach had just been lifted for the winter months so Archie had a great time running around, getting wet and rolling in the sand. We walked along the promenade and round the harbour and though the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze so we stopped at a cafe overlooking the sea for coffee and hot chocolate before heading back to the car for our homeward journey after a lovely day out.