ST CATHERINES POINT

This headland at the most southerly tip of the Isle of Wight now houses a much needed lighthouse. Much needed because before the lighthouse was built in 1840 the sea around here was a graveyard for ships. Between 1748 and 1808 there were on average ten ships a year coming to grief here. There are guided tours of the lighthouse in the summer. There is a nice walk to the point starting from the nearby village of Niton and taking in Knowles Farm, where the inventor Marconi set up an experimental station in 1900. From here the following year, he made contact with the Lizard Radio Telegraph Station at Bass Point in Cornwall. All that remains of the station now is the concrete base of the communication mast. There are wonderful views from the cliff top, taking in the surrounding landscape and the white buildings of the lighthouse. It is worth taking binoculars for the birdlife which is to be found here, which includes peregrine falcons and fulmars.

Map of the area.

St Catherine's Lighthouse entrance. Photo by Editor5807, via Wikimedia Commons.