Opening times and information for visiting The Old Lighthouse.

Gallery

A selection of photos of the lighthouse and local area.

History

A four-hundred year history of lighthouses at Dungeness.

Local Attractions

Additional places to visit in Dungeness and surrounding area.

Noticeboard

Please see out Visiting page for latest opening information.

Welcome to The Old Lighthouse

The Old Lighthouse is an Historic Grade 11 building, listed in 1992 by Shepway District Council, recently celebrating its centenary.

Opened with great ceremony by His Royal Majesty the Prince of Wales in 1904 after a 3 year build, it survived two world wars before decommission in 1960. For 56 years it provided a welcome landlight to vessels negotiating the perils of the English Channel. The Lighthouse features in Nickolaus Pevsner's "Buildings of Kent".

This imposing building is almost 46 metres high to the top of the weather vane, 11 metres in diameter and constructed of engineering bricks with sandstone inner walls. Over three million bricks were used to build the structure.

Internally there are a series of mezzanine floors made of slate and supported by steel beams and massive rivets. Each floor is linked by circular concrete stairs which hug the walls and have decorative wrought iron banisters. There are cambered casement viewing windows on all floors.

Visit the Old Lighthouse for a great day out

Learn how a Lighthouse works and the men who used to operate it.

Café, restaurant and local public house within a few minutes walk.

Local books, charts and postcards are available in our shop.

Reward yourself or your family with a certificate of a successful ascent.

View the Great Lens and the Sector Light.

Ample free car parking adjacent to site.

Climb the tower for panoramic aspects over the English Channel and the surrounding countryside. Binoculars are well worth bringing.

Experience the magic of timeless Dungeness and why it is so popular with Art Directors and has featured it so many films and fashion shoots.

Dungeness Lighthouse offers unique views over the 500 cuspate shingle ridges that have formed the foreland.

Admire the inspired industrial Victorian architecture of the distinctive black and white Tower, the Landmark of Dungeness.

Whilst you are here enjoy local trails and walks to the beach, the RSPB Nature Reserve and the Lifeboat station. Cottages adapted from old railway carriages are a distinctive and picturesque feature of the area. There are numerous rare invertebrates and protected wild plant species.

Adjacent to Lighthouse is Dungeness Station, the final stop of the famous Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway that was re-opened after WW11 in 1947 by Hollywood Stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The Railway runs a regular service through from Hythe for most of the year.