Longships Lighthouse

A round the cliffs of Land's End, at the extreme south-west point of the British mainland, there is displayed during storms a wild panorama described by John Ruskin as an "entire disorder of the surges...the whole surface of the sea becomes one dizzy whirl of rushing writhing tortured undirected rage bounding and crashing and coiling an anarchy of enormous power". The headland is encircled by rocks on which countless ships have been lost in heavy seas or during poor visibility. Such disasters are rare nowadays, greater safety being afforded by seamarks equipped with the latest electronic devices. Among these is the Longships Lighthouse situated one mile out to the west of Land's End.