3,500 mile cycle to see every lighthouse in England and Wales
Follow the Beacon Bike …
“On the first Monday in May, a couple of summers ago, I set off on my bike on an expedition to visit and write about every onshore and offshore lighthouse in England and Wales. I included the many islands – the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, Lundy, Bardsey and the Channel Islands. Reaching the offshore and rock lighthouses required ferry crossings, boat trips and fishing fleets.
I have multiple sclerosis, and I raised more than £15,000 for a brilliant MS charity and support network called Shift MS. Read on to find out more …”
300+ lighthouses in three and a half minutes
Recent Posts
The days that followed: Postscript
Postscript It seems strange to be writing these words now that I am home. I made this journey a couple of summers ago, and only started writing about it during some fairly lean working months during the pandemic. Since my return we have lost, or...
Day 97: Full Circle – Hythe to Dungeness and Home
I had more than three hours to cycle the ten or so miles to Dungeness. Generous, even at my pace. So I was in no rush to get going, and instead spent a while rummaging through the stalls in the Malthouse Arcade, the antique centre at one end of the...
Day 96: Deal to Hythe via South Foreland, Dover and Folkestone
Home was just forty miles away, but timing the journey to meet (what I hoped would be) a sizeable crowd at Dungeness the next day meant slowing down, and finding a final guest house or hotel this evening. The lack of urgency justified my decision...
Day 95: Whitstable to Deal via Herne Bay, Margate and North Foreland
I managed my first family farewell of the journey without tears. I would love to say that it was down to handling my emotions more effectively, but it was really due to the fact that I was now only three days from home, and I would be seeing my...
Day 94: Gravesend to Whitstable via Isle of Grain and Faversham
Although I had seen them briefly the previous evening, I decided to take a closer look at the two Gravesend piers with lights. These days, the Royal Terrace Pier is owned by the Port of London Authority (PLA), and access is prohibited. But it’s...
Day 93: Tilbury to Gravesend via Trinity Buoy Wharf and the Woolwich ferry
After the trauma of the previous afternoon, I vowed not to cycle along a single main road all day. Cycle tracks and minor roads would be OK, but I would rather walk the Thames footpath, pushing my bike, than subject myself to another main road....
No two lighthouses are the same …
My position was tracked and plotted the whole way …
The lighthouses mapped
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