A substantial rock set menacingly in the middle of a busy shipping lane, Lundy has a dismal record of shipwrecks. In the 18th century, well aware of it's dangers, a group of Bristol merchants offered to build and maintain a lighthouse at their own expense if the island's owner would allow them a site. They chose Beacon Hill, the highest point on the island, with only the sea between it and America. After a series of difficulties, the Old Light was eventually designed by Daniel Asher Alexander, the architect of Dartmoor prison, and built in 1820. Connected to the tower by a passage were quarters for keepers' families. Also built of granite, the quarters have a fine block like feeling, revealing Alexander's admiration for Piranesi's prints which show gigantic buildings made of a cyclopean stones.

Old Light Lower    4 people

The keepers quarters are still divided into the two original, solidly constructed flats, very satisfying in design and detail. This groundfloor flat has three bedrooms and a main sitting-room of great presence, with a fireplace 6 ft wide. The furniture is entirely in keeping with its grand but functional atmosphere.

Old Light Upper   5 people

This first floor flat looks out over the north part of the island, one of the few dwellings on Lundy to command this interesting view. The flat echoes the scale and charm of Trinity below, but has two beds in the third bedroom, offering additional accommodation.