Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire nr Fishguard - Lighthouse - local postcard c.1980s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Strumble Head, near Fishguard, Pembrokeshire - shows the lighthouse
• Publisher: Pembrokeshire Eye (3025)
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Strumble Head (Welsh: Pen Strwmbl) is a rocky headland in the community of Pencaer in Pembrokeshire, Wales, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It marks the southern limit of Cardigan Bay. Three islands lie off the head: Ynys Meicel – 112 feet (34 m) – Ynys Onnen and Carreg Onnen.

Strumble Head, which is on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, comprises part of the Strumble Head - Llechdafad Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest and is one of the best sites in Britain to view cetaceans, particularly the porpoise which can be spotted in the tidal races around the headland with modest binoculars. Public cetacean watches are frequently organized by the Goodwick-based local marine wildlife conservationist Sea Trust.[1] Seals can often be spotted. A wartime lookout post was converted as a shelter for wildlife fans and was opened by Bill Oddie in 1988.[2] As well as marine mammels, the headland is a particularly good place to observe the passage of migrating birds, especially during the period from the end of July through to November.[3]

The adjacent coast has been the site of numerous shipwrecks. In 2003, a French shipwreck, possibly from the battle of Fishguard, was found nearby.[4] The Bardse of the Pile of Fowdrey was wrecked off Strumble Head on 3 October 1763 laden with a cargo of iron and copper from Wicklow bound for Chepstow.[5] In 1915, the barque Calburga, one of Canada's last square rigged sailing ships, was lost. The crew were able to get to safety on their lifeboat, leaving a dispersed area of wreckage, which remains off the coast some 1500m south-west of the lighthouse.[6]

The headland gives its name to Strumble Head Lighthouse on the island of Ynys Meicel, and Strumble VOR, a way-point in many transatlantic flights.[7]

Strumble Head Lighthouse stands on Ynys Meicel (from Welsh: St. Michael's Island), also known as Strumble Head, a rocky island at the northwest corner of Pencaer area, five miles west of the town of Fishguard, in northern Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The present lighthouse was erected in 1908, but the first proposal to build a lighthouse here was made in 1825 by Trinity House. The lighthouse replaces a light-vessel previously moored in the south of Cardigan Bay. The lighthouse is similar in construction to Skokholm Lighthouse and is among the last lighthouses to be built in Britain.

The circular stone tower is 55 ft high and still contains the original lantern complete with Fresnel lens manufactured by Chance Brothers, using a mercury bath as a low-friction bearing. Illumination was updated from paraffin to electricity in 1949. The Lighthouse was fully electrified in 1965. The Lighthouse was fully automated in 1980 and is now monitored from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich with regular visits made by an attendant.

A plaque in the lantern-room is inscribed with a verse from Psalm 127:

Except the Lord Build the house

They labour in vain that build it

Except the Lord keep the city

The Watchman waketh but in vain

Under the lantern room sits a water tank which was used to store rainfall for use in the lighthouse's accommodation. The Lighthouse was reached by an iron bridge, and a handrail on the bridge and steps formed part pipe siphoning fuel mainland. Parts of the apparatus still survive. The bridge was replaced in 1963. An electric fog-signal was installed in 1969, replacing the previous system that used explosive signal charges. Stores were transferred from the mainland by cable but now largely arrive by helicopter and a helipad is found to the west of the lighthouse.

Those familiar with transatlantic aviation may recognize the name from Strumble VOR.