well this brings back memories, i was only a child then and went with my mum and sister up the light house . My mum was scared of heights and was an extremely brave lady she went all the way to the top with us children. My mum was struggling to come down the spiral and had to sit down on the steps and come down that way. On the way down near the top ,2 young lads helped my mother down and was very grateful for the help because they got her down so safely and made sure she was ok and took her to the tearoom. If anyone remembers this back in the nineties please say hi , i want to thank you so much what you did for my mother . Think my mum made friends with the owners and still keeps in touch with them but they have sadly moved away . thank you so much for these memories of the lighthouse .
I hiked the Portland coast path one night in early 2019 from Chesil beach and have some photos and video of the lighthouse beams. I've left the UK now and am deeply saddened by the so called improvement , replacing a beautifully crafted work of art with a boring LED... What a joyless society we have become, presumably someone took a brown envelope full of cash. Great documentary Stuart, brings back many happy memories of my time in the South West.
Yes it is very sad, but I don't think there were any brown envelopes, Trinity House has been 'updating' all their lighthouses. Few working Fresnel optics are now left
Superb documentary. Used to stay at the old lower light when I was with a birdwatching group from Hampshire. The Bill lighthouse, in my opinion, will never be the same again, sadly.
It's an absolute disgrace they got rid of the original foghorn equipment. Up until last year, it was the only functioning Diaphone fog signal anywhere in Europe. Even though it was clearly no longer an essential aid to navigation, it was a piece of British engineering history whose influence spread across to the United States and beyond since many lighthouses in Australia and the US also contained Diaphones that were installed in the former half of the 20th Century. Besides, in the quest of making the lighthouse more interesting and accessible to visitors, it would have made much more sense to preserve it for posterity and use it occasionally as an attraction thus giving visitors more things to observe and take an interest in. Shame on Trinity House! They've done this to virtually every lighthouse across the UK. The only working Diaphone I know of worldwide is the Type G at Low Head Lighthouse in Tasmania. Long may it sing!
Yes Alex, I share your sentiments. That is why I did what I could to record every aspect of the changes. As I say in the commentary they did sound the old foghorn each week (on Sunday mornings) for the benefit of visitors, until a few years ago. But sadly it's all gone now.
@@StuartMorris7 Appreciate your response and you've done a great job capturing the site and the changes! I'm just saddened by the fact that I'll never be able to go down there on a Sunday and experience it. Guess I'll have to fly over to Tasmania instead!
I agree but over here they all got removed but we still have lots of fresnel lenses in use. Fastnet is strange as they put the light on top of the lighthouse in a heavily wind and wave beaten area
Excellent Stuart...you made a brilliant job of putting this video together...what an incredible history lesson on a very iconic structure. So interesting and we personally learnt so much from it. Well done and a huge thank you !
Shame the horn is no more.........used to be a pilgrimage every Sunday on holiday going up to the top of Portland Bill Lighthouse .........well.......for my dad and me........mum and sister stayed firmly on the ground with tea and crab sandwiches at the wooden cafe next door.......
This was really interesting. I had no idea my ancestors had been so involved with the lighthouse (my Mum was a Comben), and it was exciting to find this out. It's always been a dream of mine to live in a lighthouse. Somehow the modernizations are quite heartbreaking.
Portland Bill Lt Ho: -- A white light at elevation 43m above MHWS that flashes 4 times for 1.5 seconds every 20 seconds, which "should be visible" 18 Nautical Miles away. -- a constant red sector light at elevation 19m which "should be visible" up to 13M (Nautical Miles) by vessels on a bearing of 265˚-291˚ to assist them to avoid the Shambles Bank. An is located to the East of the3 Shambles Bank (a submerged navigation hazard) at about 4.8NM east of Portland Bill. -- a diaphone fog horn which sounds for 1.5 seconds every 30 seconds was removed and since 7 Oct 2019 the fog signal was reduced to 1nm. As you indicated -- The Portland Bill diaphone is currently silent. A modern alternative has been added, but it is unclear if this 1nm fog signal is to be further upgraded as part of a modernisation project.
Such a shame to see the lamp dismantled, why can’t they just leave things alone, its not the same now 😥, i have been in the lighthouse and it was fascinating to see the lamp where it was meant to be.
\are you saying that the fog signal now still sounds on special occasions? Please explain what I got wrong. See this version: ua-cam.com/video/PUeHmqxPDaM/v-deo.htmlsi=HL81r60etOEN02ES
well this brings back memories, i was only a child then and went with my mum and sister up the light house . My mum was scared of heights and was an extremely brave lady she went all the way to the top with us children. My mum was struggling to come down the spiral and had to sit down on the steps and come down that way. On the way down near the top ,2 young lads helped my mother down and was very grateful for the help because they got her down so safely and made sure she was ok and took her to the tearoom. If anyone remembers this back in the nineties please say hi , i want to thank you so much what you did for my mother . Think my mum made friends with the owners and still keeps in touch with them but they have sadly moved away .
thank you so much for these memories of the lighthouse .
I hiked the Portland coast path one night in early 2019 from Chesil beach and have some photos and video of the lighthouse beams. I've left the UK now and am deeply saddened by the so called improvement , replacing a beautifully crafted work of art with a boring LED... What a joyless society we have become, presumably someone took a brown envelope full of cash. Great documentary Stuart, brings back many happy memories of my time in the South West.
Yes it is very sad, but I don't think there were any brown envelopes, Trinity House has been 'updating' all their lighthouses. Few working Fresnel optics are now left
Superb documentary. Used to stay at the old lower light when I was with a birdwatching group from Hampshire. The Bill lighthouse, in my opinion, will never be the same again, sadly.
Glad you enjoyed it
The Low Head Lighthouse in Australia still has their Diaphone Foghorn Type G set to sound once a week at noon
It's an absolute disgrace they got rid of the original foghorn equipment. Up until last year, it was the only functioning Diaphone fog signal anywhere in Europe. Even though it was clearly no longer an essential aid to navigation, it was a piece of British engineering history whose influence spread across to the United States and beyond since many lighthouses in Australia and the US also contained Diaphones that were installed in the former half of the 20th Century. Besides, in the quest of making the lighthouse more interesting and accessible to visitors, it would have made much more sense to preserve it for posterity and use it occasionally as an attraction thus giving visitors more things to observe and take an interest in. Shame on Trinity House! They've done this to virtually every lighthouse across the UK. The only working Diaphone I know of worldwide is the Type G at Low Head Lighthouse in Tasmania. Long may it sing!
Yes Alex, I share your sentiments. That is why I did what I could to record every aspect of the changes. As I say in the commentary they did sound the old foghorn each week (on Sunday mornings) for the benefit of visitors, until a few years ago. But sadly it's all gone now.
@@StuartMorris7 Appreciate your response and you've done a great job capturing the site and the changes! I'm just saddened by the fact that I'll never be able to go down there on a Sunday and experience it. Guess I'll have to fly over to Tasmania instead!
I agree but over here they all got removed but we still have lots of fresnel lenses in use. Fastnet is strange as they put the light on top of the lighthouse in a heavily wind and wave beaten area
Excellent Stuart...you made a brilliant job of putting this video together...what an incredible history lesson on a very iconic structure. So interesting and we personally learnt so much from it. Well done and a huge thank you !
Thanks indeed for your kind comment; I'm pleased you enjoyed it. If you can spread the word that would be nice!
Shame the horn is no more.........used to be a pilgrimage every Sunday on holiday going up to the top of Portland Bill Lighthouse .........well.......for my dad and me........mum and sister stayed firmly on the ground with tea and crab sandwiches at the wooden cafe next door.......
This was really interesting. I had no idea my ancestors had been so involved with the lighthouse (my Mum was a Comben), and it was exciting to find this out. It's always been a dream of mine to live in a lighthouse. Somehow the modernizations are quite heartbreaking.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Portland Bill Lt Ho:
-- A white light at elevation 43m above MHWS that flashes 4 times for 1.5 seconds every 20 seconds, which "should be visible" 18 Nautical Miles away.
-- a constant red sector light at elevation 19m which "should be visible" up to 13M (Nautical Miles) by vessels on a bearing of 265˚-291˚ to assist them to avoid the Shambles Bank. An is located to the East of the3 Shambles Bank (a submerged navigation hazard) at about 4.8NM east of Portland Bill.
-- a diaphone fog horn which sounds for 1.5 seconds every 30 seconds was removed and since 7 Oct 2019 the fog signal was reduced to 1nm.
As you indicated -- The Portland Bill diaphone is currently silent. A modern alternative has been added, but it is unclear if this 1nm fog signal is to be further upgraded as part of a modernisation project.
Thanks Andy. Are you connected with TH?
Have you found anything incorrect in my narration, which is up-to-date as of January 2020?
Served 1 month on here in 1970.
You kept it going then!
@@StuartMorris7 For a brief time. Nice spot and lots of visitors to show round.
@@lighthouseman17 It's very quiet just now, with the lockdown
@@lighthouseman17 Is it true you could get into a land lighthouse if there were keepers attached to it
@@oscarosullivan4513 Yes at most of the land based lighthouses the keepers were more than happy to show members of the public the station.
This such a great documentary what's thes sound tracks used in this film
So pleased you like it. If you let me know the timeline points of the music you're referring to, I can tell you.
@@StuartMorris7 sent u a massage on fb bud
Here's a new version. slightly updated: ua-cam.com/video/PEH5v2rswHg/v-deo.html
LOVE that diaphone foghorn, so sad it's gone x
Such a shame to see the lamp dismantled, why can’t they just leave things alone, its not the same now 😥, i have been in the lighthouse and it was fascinating to see the lamp where it was meant to be.
The info on the foghorn is wrong. Facts need changing as it is still sounded on special occasions it seems contradictory.
\are you saying that the fog signal now still sounds on special occasions? Please explain what I got wrong. See this version: ua-cam.com/video/PUeHmqxPDaM/v-deo.htmlsi=HL81r60etOEN02ES