Start Point Lighthouse
Start Point Lighthouse stands at one of the most dramatic and exposed headlands in southern England, a slender white tower perched at the very tip of a narrow, jagged promontory that juts into the English Channel on the south Devon coast. It is one of Trinity House's most distinctive lighthouses, and its setting — a blade of dark schist rock dropping sheer into churning seas on three sides — makes it among the most visually striking in the country. The lighthouse marks a genuinely dangerous stretch of coastline where tidal races, submerged reefs and unpredictable currents have claimed an enormous number of vessels over the centuries, and its warning light remains operationally important to this day.
The lighthouse was designed by Joseph Nelson and first lit in 1836, built at the instigation of Trinity House to address the persistent hazard posed by Start Point to vessels navigating the western approaches to the English Channel. Before the lighthouse was established, the headland was notorious for wrecks, and the surrounding seabed is scattered with the remains of ships that misjudged the passage. The tower stands 28 metres tall and, being already perched on elevated rock, the light itself sits around 62 metres above mean high water, giving it a range of approximately 25 nautical miles. The lighthouse was electrified and automated in 1993, ending the era of resident keepers whose families once occupied the cluster of whitewashed cottages that still stand beside the tower.
Approaching on foot, the path from the small car park leads along the headland's spine with views opening in all directions — the sweep of Start Bay to the north and the open Channel to the south. The rock underfoot is Devonian schist, dark grey-green and folded into dramatic formations, with the narrow ridge falling away steeply on both sides. On a breezy day the sound of the sea is constant and enveloping, crashing against the base of the cliffs below and hissing back through the kelp-covered rocks. In calmer conditions the clarity of the water around the point is striking, shifting from deep green to vivid blue, and on very still days you can sometimes hear the automated foghorn system and the calling of seabirds nesting in the cliff faces.
The surrounding landscape is part of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the South West Coast Path runs directly past the lighthouse, making it a natural waypoint for long-distance walkers. To the north along the bay lie the villages of Torcross, Beesands and Hallsands — the latter a haunting ruin of a village that was largely destroyed by storms in 1917 following the dredging of offshore shingle. Inland, the hinterland is a patchwork of ancient Devon farmland, high hedgebanks and quiet lanes leading to Kingsbridge and the broad tidal inlet of the Kingsbridge Estuary. The nearest significant settlement is Salcombe, a few miles to the west across the headland.
Start Point is a superb site for wildlife. The headland is well known as a seabird watching location, particularly during migration seasons in spring and autumn when it funnels birds moving along the Channel coast. Gannets, skuas, shearwaters and petrels are regularly recorded offshore, and the sheltered waters of Start Bay to the north hold regular populations of seaducks and divers in winter. Grey seals are often seen hauled out on rocks below the lighthouse or porpoising in the tidal race off the point. The botanical interest is also notable, with maritime grassland and heath communities clinging to the thin soils of the exposed headland.
Trinity House opens Start Point Lighthouse to visitors on selected days throughout the year, typically spring through early autumn, and guided tours take visitors up through the interior of the tower to the lantern room, offering panoramic views of the surrounding coast and out across the Channel towards France on very clear days. Access is by a footpath from a National Trust car park near the headland; the path is a moderate walk of about half a mile each way, though the rocky and sometimes uneven terrain means sturdy footwear is advisable. The road to the car park is extremely narrow and winding, a single track shared with passing places, and caution is required when driving. Larger vehicles and coaches are not suitable. Dogs are welcome on the coastal path.
One of the more remarkable stories associated with Start Point concerns the wreck of the troopship Dryad, lost here in the nineteenth century, and the headland has been connected with legends of wreckers — local people who allegedly lured ships onto the rocks with false lights, though the historical evidence for organised wrecking is contested. What is beyond doubt is that the waters around Start Point have been feared by mariners for millennia; the headland is mentioned in early navigational charts as a point to be treated with the utmost respect, and its distinctive silhouette — the thin spine of rock with the white lighthouse needle rising at its tip — has been the first or last sight of England for countless seafarers on Channel crossings. There is something moving about standing at the very tip of the point, aware of all the human history the sea below has swallowed, while the light continues its patient rotation overhead.