A maintenance visit to the isolated and enormous Wolf Rock Lighthouse in Cornwall

One of the most famous British lighthouses is located halfway between the southwestern tip of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

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This enormous lighthouse stands on a volcanic rock known as Wolf Rock, so named because it is said to have fissures that cause the wind to generate something similar to the howls of a wolf during storms. This area has always been an important shipping route and plans to install a lighthouse on this rock first came about in the late 18th century, but ultimately the signage at this location was limited to various signs that were destroyed by storms.

The first surviving Wolf Rock signal was a 14-foot-high conical beacon designed by British engineer James Walker. Made of iron and concrete, its construction began in 1844 and wasn't completed until 1848 due to the significant difficulties involved in constructing a structure on the rock. The lighthouse, erected next to the beacon (which still stands today), began on August 6, 1864. It is a 130-foot-high conical cylindrical tower made of masonry. Its construction, directed by engineer James Douglass, was completed on July 19, 1869.

The Wolf Rock Lighthouse was first lit on January 1, 1870, projecting a white and red light from a series of clear and ruby-colored glass panels around its lantern, which was displayed at the 1867 Paris Exposition as an example of the most advanced technology of its time. The original lantern was replaced with a more powerful one in 1904, which remained in operation until 1960.

As a curiosity, on December 18, 1944, during World War II, a German submarine, the U-1209, ran aground on Wolf Rock due to a navigational error, suffering serious damage in an incident in which there were 9 deaths. The submarine was sunk by its engineer officer, George Claussen, who managed to get out of the boat with serious injuries, being rescued by the Allies. He finally died in the hospital of Penzance, Cornwall, being buried with military honors by British soldiers with his coffin covered with the nazi flag.

It must be said that Wolf Rock was very unpopular with the lighthouse keepers because they were often left isolated for weeks or even months. This was due to the weather changing rapidly in that area and storms being quite frequent, making it impossible to disembark at the small jetty next to the lighthouse. This problem was solved in 1972, when Wolf Rock became the first lighthouse in the world to have a helipad. The lighthouse was finally automated in 1987, and its last lighthouse keepers left on June 3 of that year. The automation process also removed the lighthouse's red sign, removing the panels of that color.

Today, the lighthouse continues to project its light onto the sea using a lantern powered by solar panels. It has a range of 16 nautical miles (30 km), flashing every 15 seconds, and has a foghorn that emits a signal every 30 seconds when visibility is significantly reduced (the lighthouse has automatic systems to detect this). This week, the YouTube channel Keeping A Lighthouse published an interesting video showing a maintenance visit to this lighthouse:

You can see some screenshots from this interesting video here. Here we can see the Wolf Rock Lighthouse from a bird's eye view, with its helipad high above.

The helipad platform. In the video you can see how the safety nets are replaced, a task not suitable for people who suffer from vertigo.

The lighthouse lantern. In the video you can see it open, and the solar panels and batteries that store the electricity that powers this light are also shown.

The old and dangerous Wolf Rock jetty, which is no longer used (the lighthouse is only accessible by helicopter). To the left, we can see the conical beacon built in 1844.

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Main image: Keeping A Lighthouse.