St. Mary's Lighthouse

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The lighthouse at low tide
The lighthouse at low tide

St. Mary's Lighthouse is on the tiny St. Mary's Island, just north of Whitley Bay on the coast of North East England. The small rocky tidal island is linked to the mainland by a short concrete causeway which is submerged at periods of high tide.

While it no longer functions as a working lighthouse, it is easily accessible (when the tide is out) and is open to visitors and has a small museum, a visitor's centre, and a cafe.

The lighthouse and adjacent keepers' cottages were built in 1898 by the John Miller company of Tynemouth, using 645 blocks of stone and 750,000 bricks. It was built on the site of a monastery where a small sanctuary light would have acted as a guide to passing ships. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1984.

The lighthouse and causeway just before high tide
The lighthouse and causeway just before high tide

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