The sun rises through the tunnel that passes entirely through the Bull rock. This only happens a few days a year, near the summer solstice. The lighthouse perches above as gannets from the colony on the rock wheel around the clear sky.

Just after sunrise the eastern face of the Bull Rock is lit by the morning light. In this image the lighthouse and associated buildings can be seen, including the steps down to the landing, and the helipad. The unique gasworks building which was constructed right against the eastern cliff can also be made out, just above the natural tunnel that bores through the island.

One thing that's difficult for photographs to capture is the impression of height. I feel this image, made from the lower balcony of the Fastnet lighthouse, succeeds in conveying that sense of vertigo. Looking down 140 feet to the seething waters below gives a real sense of the accomplishment of the builders who finished this structure in 1904.

The expanding gannet colony on the Bull Rock can be clearly seen here as the white area occupying nearly the entire southern side of the rock. The white dots around the island are the birds themselves.

Looking down from the top of the lantern as it rotates, the twin bulbs can be seen. The second bulb will move into position if the first goes out.

When many of the lighthouses around the coast have been converted to solar power, and correspondingly had their lanterns reduced to modern efficient bulbs and lenses, it’s not practical to do so at the Fastnet - the solar panels would be washed away within weeks of installation.
As such, the lighthouse still has it’s beautiful, giant glass fresnel and large incandescent bulbs. In this view, made from the lower catwalk, the intricacies of the fresnel lens can be appreciated. Neilly, the attendant goes about his regular maintenance checklist while the wind and waves pound outside.

The lantern of the Fastnet lighthouse glows as the first rays of sun strike it on a beautiful spring morning.

The Fastnet Lighthouse at dawn on a blustery day.

Made from the balcony of the lighthouse, the view is back towards Cape Clear Island with the base of the old lighthouse and the helipad in the foreground as the pink light of dawn grows.