Isle of Wight August 2011

I had a lovely day on the Isle of Wight recently with my sister Helen.  She took me to St Catherine's Point, which is about as far south as you can travel on the island.

Here is St Catherine's Lighthouse - one of the oldest lighthouses in Great Britain - a lighthouse has been here since 1323 - although obviously this is a more recent addition (1840).  It stands 27 metres tall and the signal from it can be seen for 30 nautical miles.  The engine room suffered a bombing raid bomb and was destroyed in 1943, tragically killing the 3 lighthouse keepers who had taken refuge there.  The lighthouse was automated in 1997.

A cormorant

We spotted a couple of hand gliders - what a wonderful view they must have had!