Association of Lighthouse Keepers

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We've wrapped up a lighthouse in ribbons for May D

We've wrapped up a lighthouse in ribbons for May Day! (Don't worry, they're biodegradable...)

Hopefully the beautiful weather holds out for the weekend's festivities!

📸 Annie Spencer (@lighthouse_explorers)

Happy St George's Day, from a beautiful Dover ligh

Happy St George's Day, from a beautiful Dover lighthouse 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

There has been a lighthouse on South Foreland's site since the 1300s, but this tower was built in 1846. The National Trust took over the site in 1989, and today you can enjoy guided tours up the lighthouse!

📸 Annie Spencer

#Lighthouse #KeepingLighthouseHeritageAlive #NationalTrust

Today we’re celebrating the founding of the Asso

Today we’re celebrating the founding of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers! 🎉

Established in 1988, the ALK was created to bring together former lighthouse keepers, their families, and all those with a passion for lighthouses and their history. What began as a way of keeping in touch and preserving memories has grown into an international organisation dedicated to recording, sharing and celebrating lighthouse heritage.

From oral history recordings and reunions, to publications, events and supporting lighthouse preservation projects, the ALK continues to shine a light on the people who kept the lights burning around our coasts.

To all our members, past and present — thank you for keeping the story alive.
Here’s to many more years of friendship, history and maritime heritage. ⚓

Were you a member in the early days? We’d love to hear your memories of how it all began.

You can find the ALK commemorative plaque at the entrance to Southwold Pier - if you find it, give it a polish!

#keepinglighthouseheritagealive #associationoflighthousekeepers

🎧 #ThrowbackThursday 🌊 Today we’re shining

🎧 #ThrowbackThursday 🌊 Today we’re shining a light on the ALK's Keeping Watch Podcast.

🎙️ This week, we turn our attention back to the fascinating world of lightvessels…
Author Tony Lane has built what is probably the most extensive archive of research on lightships — not just around our own coastline, but across Europe and America.

We also hear first-hand memories from a lightship keeper who served aboard the North Goodwin Lightship during the 1940s. His reflections are both moving and vivid, offering a glimpse into life at sea during an extraordinary time.
From a brief history of the early lightships to tales of starlings taking over the vessel, relief days, hobbies, and the ever-present sense of isolation… there’s so much to discover.

But perhaps most striking are his memories of serving on an unpowered vessel out in the Channel during the Blitz, and later during D-Day — a powerful reminder of the resilience and courage of those who kept the lights burning in the darkest of times.

Listen on the platform of your choice: https://alk.org.uk/resources/keeping-watch-podcast/

Photo: LV20 North Goodwin Lightvessel, photographed from the Wessex of 22SQN, Manston. Shared by Ted Ingham via Lightvessels and lightships

#ThrowbackThursday #KeepingWatch #LighthouseKeepers #TrinityHouse

🌊 A remarkable lighthouse story from March 1926

🌊 A remarkable lighthouse story from March 1926

In March 1926, 14-year-old Ethel Langton found herself alone at St Helens Fort, just off Bembridge.

A fierce gale prevented her father, Mason Langton—the fort’s caretaker—from returning, leaving Ethel stranded from Saturday until Tuesday night. With only a single loaf of bread, she kept the light shining faithfully for three nights.

Her story was reported in The Taunton Courier on 31 March 1926.

Originally built in 1859 as a sea fort amid fears of French invasion, St Helens later became a lighthouse. Even today, on the lowest tides of the year, a causeway emerges from the sea, allowing a traditional mass walk out to the fort.

🎧Listen to this fascinating story on the Coastal Stories podcast by Charlie Connelly: https://audioboom.com/posts/7723338-ethel-langton-the-lady-of-the-lamp

Photo: Geograph by Graham Horn

The clocks have gone forward! ⏰ Hopefully, you

The clocks have gone forward! ⏰

Hopefully, you aren't feeling too hard done by this morning... We may have lost an hour, but surely this means we're well on our way to longer days and warmer weather.

📸 Photo by Annie Spencer (@lighthouse_explorers)

🥃✨ Celebrating International Whisky Day with

🥃✨ Celebrating International Whisky Day with Lighthouse Whisky! ✨🌊

A special shout‑out to Brave New Spirits, proud Corporate Members of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, whose passion and craft help keep the spirit shining bright. 🥃💡

https://alk.org.uk/corporate-membership/

#internationalwhiskyday #InternationalWhisky #lighthousewhisky

📣🌫️ It's #FoghornFriday 🌫️📣 Turn u

📣🌫️ It's #FoghornFriday 🌫️📣 Turn up the volume!

This week we’re heading to Portland Bill Lighthouse and remembering the unforgettable diaphone fog signal — that deep, resonant, blast that once echoed across the English Channel, warning ships away from the notorious Portland Race.

The diaphone fog signal at Portland Bill was discontinued in 1996, when Trinity House withdrew many traditional fog signals around the UK as modern electronic navigation systems (such as GPS) had become standard.

Portland Bill’s powerful diaphone had been a familiar and much-loved sound along the Dorset coast for decades before it finally fell silent.

Close your eyes, have a listen, and imagine standing on the headland as the sound rolls out across the sea… 🌊

#PortlandBill #Trinityhouse #keepinglighthouseheritagealive

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