Visiting a lighthouse can often feel like taking a step back in time – so why not feed your imagination this autumn and discover the ones you have on your doorstep.
Although many of Merseyside’s lighthouses have been destroyed throughout the years, there are still some, within an hour's drive of Liverpool, which are standing proud.
Leasowe lighthouse, Leasowe Common, Moreton
Leasowe Lighthouse was built in 1763 by Liverpool Corporation’s Docks Committee and is the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain.
According to local tradition its foundations were built on bales of cotton from a nearby shipwreck.
In around 1763, William Hutchinson installed what may have been the first parabolic reflector in a lighthouse.
The lighthouse was one of four lights on the North Wirral foreshore, the others being two at Hoylake and another at Leasowe.
The latter was soon destroyed by the sea and was replaced by a lighthouse on Bidston Hill.
The lighthouse was operational until 1908.
Tours of the lighthouse now run from 12pm to 4pm on the first and third Sunday of each month.
Guided tours to the top cost £2.50 for adults and £1 for children who must be 1.06 metres tall.
Bidston Lighthouse
There has been a lighthouse on Bidston Hill since 1771. Being more than two miles from the sea, it depended on a breakthrough in lighthouse optics.
The present lighthouse was built by Mersey Docks and Harbour Board in 1873 and was operational until October 1913.
It served as Liverpool’s principle lighthouse until 1913, and as an electric telegraph station until 1914.
The building is Grade-II listed, privately owned and is open to the public every Saturday afternoon, April to September, from 11.45am to 4pm.
Private, guided tours are available all year round. Call 0151 653 7816 to book.
Hale Head lighthouse, Church Road, Hale
Today’s Hale Lighthouse was built in 1906 after replacing a shorter tower built around 1838. The tower is 45ft high and the lamp’s beam could be seen 40 miles away. The lighthouse was last used in 1958 when it was decommissioned.
The main light now stands in The Merseyside Mariitime Museum in the Albert dock.The Lighthouse still sits on the sandstone cliffs.
Hilbre Island Lighthouse, Hilbre Island
Acting as a port landmark for the Hilbre swash in the River Dee estuary this lighthouse was established in 1927 by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Authority, now the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, but has been operated by Trinity House since 1973.
It was converted from acetylene gas to solar-power operation in 1995.
The lighthouse, which is 10ft tall has a light that is 46ft above high water.
