Lighthouses
With over 29,000 km of twisting coastline, laden with submerged rocks, inlets, icebergs, and fog, it's no wonder Newfoundland and Labrador has several hundred navigational lights clinging to its shores. Long before electricity, motorboats and coast guards, fishermen and sailors relied on lighthouses and their keepers to guide them safe from peril.
This rugged place has known its fair share of shipwrecks, tragedies that occurred before lighthouses were constructed. Hundreds of stories of rescues have been passed down through our families for centuries, and you can relive some of these by visiting the lighthouses that were eventually placed over those dramatically-beautiful coastlines to prevent further wrecks.
Newfoundland and Labrador established its first permanent lighthouse in 1813 at Fort Amherst, the entrance to St. John's harbour. Since then, hundreds of lighthouses and small beacons took up residence along our shores, usually painted in different styles – such as plain white or candy-striped – to help sailors recognize the location they were approaching.
Cape Race Lighthouse was the location for Newfoundland's first wireless communication station and was established a couple of years after the first transatlantic message was sent by Marconi from Signal Hill. The lighthouse became a centre for reporting news around the world and received the Titanic's distress signal after the vessel hit an iceberg off Newfoundland waters.
The majority of these lighthouses are still in operation and can be reached by car or by a short, scenic hike. Relive a bygone era as you enter these historic buildings and explore their rich history. Some have even been remodelled into restaurants and bed and breakfasts offering stunning ocean views, like Quirpon Lighthouse Inn on the island's northern tip and Cape Anguille Lighthouse Inn on the west coast. To find out more about either of these, visit Linkum Tours.
The image of the lighthouse and its keeper – a vigilant, solitary guardian – is a romantic one, and nowhere is this feeling better captured than by visiting these historic sites, where the beauty and peril of our coastlines exist side by side.
Shining bright
There are so many lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador it's impossible to list them all, but here are some particularly notable ones.
Cape Spear Lighthouse: On Route 11, a 20-minute drive from St. John's. This is located along the popular East Coast Trail and is the most easterly point in North America. The lighthouse building is the oldest original lighthouse structure in the province.
Ferryland Head Lighthouse: Take Route 10 south from St. John's, about an hour's drive to Ferryland. Access to the lighthouse is by a pleasant 15-minute walk across the Gaze. This is the home of the famous Lighthouse Picnics, where visitors can buy a delicious lunch basket to eat on the surrounding grassy slopes overlooking the ocean.
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse: Just outside Bonavista on Route 230. As the place where John Cabot first made landfall in Newfoundland in 1497, this is one of the most visited historic sites in the province. Guided tours of the lighthouse exhibit and the keeper's quarters, which have been restored to the 1870s, are available.
Long Point Lighthouse: Located at the northern tip of North Twillingate Islands via Route 340. The location is surrounded by hiking trails and overlooks Notre Dame Bay. It's a prime spot for viewing icebergs, whales and seabirds. The lighthouse is staffed and the keeper often gives tours.
Point Amour Lighthouse: Off Route 510 near L'Anse Amour, Labrador. This Provincial Historic Site is the second tallest lighthouse in Canada and was built in 1858 to aid the passage of ships between this country and Europe. An interpretation centre is on site and tours are also available.
Rose Blanche Lighthouse: Off Route 470 at Rose Blanche. This granite lighthouse, dating back to 1871, was constructed on the site of a famous shipwreck, which was reimagined into a novel by author Kevin Major. In 1828, an Irish immigrant ship ran aground and broke apart during a raging storm. For three full days a 17-year-old girl named Ann Harvey saved passengers and crew by bravely ferrying them to land through fog and lashing wind in a 12-foot skiff.
