Kovach, Warren, Lighthouses of Wales (Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2025), 96pp. – A book by the author of this web site.
The following are some of the books that I’ve found invaluable in my investigations of lighthouses. Click on the titles to purchase from Amazon.
- Allan, Jennifer Lucy, The Foghorn’s Lament – The Disappearing Music of the Coast (London: White Rabbit, 2021, 295pp. – Music journalist Allan discovers the power of the foghorn and goes on an odyssey to discover all she can about them.
- Bathhurst, Bella, The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson (London: Harper Perennial, 2000), 304pp. – The story of the famous family that built many of Scotland’s lighthouses.
- Dora, Veronica Della, Where Light in Darkness Lies: The Story of the Lighthouse (London: Reaktion Books, 2022), 277pp. – A fascinating account of how lighthouses feature in literature, art and the human imagination.
- Farrah, Robert W.E., From the Lighthouse – A Lighthouse Keeper’s Memoir. (Dumfries & Galloway: Hayloft Publishing, 2025), 240pp. – The journal kept by keeper Farrah during his time at Nash Point, Trevose Head, and Alderney/Mannez lighthouses, 1995-1997. https://hayloft.eu/product/from-the-lighthouse/
- Hague, Douglas B. & Christie, Rosemary, Lighthouses – Their Architecture, History and Archaeology (Llandysul: Gomer Press, 1975), 333pp. – A comprehensive survey of the history and architecture of lighthouses around the world.
- Hague, Douglas B., Lighthouses of Wales – Their Architecture and Archaeology (Aberystwyth: Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales, 1994), 104pp. – Another book by the industrial archaeologist Hague, focusing on the lighthouses of Wales. Out of print but still available as a download at shop.rcahmw.gov.uk.
- Hill, Peter, Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2004), 306pp. – A young art student, longhaired and counterculture-leaning, answers an ad for a relief lighthouse keeper and within a month begins a journey of living and working at remote lighthouses around Scotland.
- Jackson, Derrick, Lighthouses of England and Wales (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1975), 176pp. – A tour around the lighthouses of England and Wales, illustrated with numerous pen and ink drawings by the author.
- Jones, Ian, Ynys Lawd – Goleudy Enwog Môn / South Stack – Anglesey’s Famous Lighthouse (Llangefni: Isle of Anglesey County Council, 2009), 84pp. – An excellent and comprehensive history of this iconic lighthouse.
- Lane, Anthony and Augustus, Martin, Lightships – Their Design, Development and Diversity (Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2024), 96pp. – Documents the history of lightships around the British coast with numerous historic photos and detailed diagrams.
- Leach, Nicholas & Denton, Tony, Lighthouses of Wales (Lichfield: Foxglove Publishing Ltd, 2011), 96pp. – Descriptions of thirty-eight lighthouses of Wales, well-illustrated with colour photos.
- Leach, Nicholas & Denton, Tony, Lighthouses of England and Wales (Cheltenham: The History Press, 2018), 336pp. – By the same authors, a larger format book covering all of England and Wales.
- Murray, Donald S, For the Safety of All: A Story of Scotland’s Lighthouses (Edinburgh: Historic Environment Scotland, 2022), 176pp. – A beautifully written and illustrated exploration of Scotland’s lighthouses by a poet and novelist who grew up in the light of one on the Isle of Lewis.
- Nancollas, Tom, Seashaken Houses: A Lighthouse History from Eddystone to Fastnet (London: Penguin, 2018), 227pp. – The author travels to several of the remote offshore tower lighthouses around Britain and Ireland to tell the stories of their building and manning.
- O’Reilly, Roger, Legendary Lighthouses of Britain (London: Watkins, 2024), 224pp. – A tour of the lighthouses of Britain, supplemented by the author’s retro travel poster-style illustrations and other sketches.
- Parker, Tony, Lighthouse. (London: Eland, 2006), 296pp. – An oral historian talks to lighthouse keepers, and their families, about their lives.
- Peppitt, Ed, The Beacon Bike (London: IconBooks, 2024), 319pp. – After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, lighthouse enthusiast Peppitt sets out to cycle to all 327 lighthouses on the coast of Wales and England.
- Robinson, John and Diane, Lighthouses of Liverpool Bay (Stroud: Tempus Publishing, 2007), 191pp. – A detailed history of the numerous lighthouses that guided ships into Liverpool port.
- Strachan, Michael A. W., Scottish Lighthouses: An Illustrated History (Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2016), 96pp. – A richly illustrated story of the building and operating of the lighthouses around the Scottish coast.
- Stevenson, D. Alan, The World’s Lighthouses Before 1820 (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 334pp. – A comprehensive and readable account of lighthouses from ancient times up to the early modern period. Written by the last of the famous Stevenson family of Scottish lighthouse engineers (see Bathurst’s book above). It was reprinted in paperback and Kindle versions by Dover Publications in 2013.
- Tubby, Joy, Lighthouse Accommodation UK and Ireland (Joy Tubby, 2025), 283pp. – A guide to lighthouses in the UK and Ireland where you can stay in the lighthouse itself or nearby accommodation buildings. It gives full histories and photographs of each.
- Woodman, Richard & Wilson, Jane, The Lighthouses of Trinity House (Bradford on Avon: Thomas Reed Publications, 2002), 256pp. – A coffee table-sized book, produced in conjunction with Trinity House, covering all their lighthouses.
Warren Kovach is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.