Fanad Lighthouse at Fanad Head in County Donegal
Apart from the Fanad Head itself, the main feature of this place is probably Fanad Lighthouse. It is the most prominent landmark here and it is natural that it is. A lighthouse is meant to guide ships at night and make sure it doesn’t run into something in the dark. The waters around Ireland are quite treacherous and it is not surprising that there are a few shipwrecks in the area. In fact, it is specifically because of a shipwreck that the Fanad Lighthouse was built. The Fanad Lighthouse has been here since the 1800s, it would probably have been nice to see it in action, but with the advent of more modern means of determining location, the lighthouse has lost its importance.
Trespassing at Fanad Lighthouse
This is not to say that it is no longer in use. The were still staff in the premises, probably to keep people out. We wanted to go in the lighthouse and hopefully go up, but the gate was closed. We waited until someone first entered the premises before going in. It was actually a disappointing visit since we didn’t get to go in the tower. We couldn’t figure out a way to get to closer to the tower without adding on to our trespassing. There was another gate but we didn’t dare cross it anymore. Maybe this time someone with a shotgun would come after us.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/FanadLighthouse.kmz} zoom=19]