We visited Brixham Heritage Museum just prior to visiting Berry Head. I was talking to Rwona – one of the distinguished members of staff at the museum – and this lady explained to use that Berry Head Lighthouse is the shortest lighthouse on the highest point in Britain (the structure lighthouse is just 4.9m high and rests on the land 60m above sea level). The lighthouse rests on a 9.2m vertical shaft cut into the limestone rock which anchors it below, and explains why it is also referred to as the ‘deepest’ lighthouse in the UK. It was built-in 1906, automated in 1921, and electrified in 1994. Its light can be seen up to 22 miles (or 35 km) away. Berry Head turned out to be just a 10 minute drive from the museum and as it is situated in the picturesque countryside, there was ample parking. From the car park the lighthouse is about a 10 to 15 minute walk passing a cafe and activity centre, a Cold War era underground communications bunker, and a store house for the Royal Artillery (dated 1802). Pter Wyles – my father – (known locally as ‘Moses Waveman’) was not with us on this day, but I include here a photograph taken about 10 years ago by a family friend of him enjoying Berry Head. Indded, as we traversed this wonderful landscape, my father and mother were enjoying one another’s company at their home in Torquay.
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