
Smalls
Location | SM 46617 08861 / 51.7211, -5.6700 / angled.soundboard.boulevards |
Established / Rebuilt / Automated / Closed | 1776 / 1861 / 1987 / — |
Architect or Builder | 1st tower Henry Whiteside / 2nd designed James Walker, built James Douglass |
Height of tower (m) / above sea level (m) / Range (NM) | 42 / 36 / 18 |
Character | Fl(3) 15s |
Optic | 1st order catadioptric |
Owner | Trinity House |
By far Wales’s most remote lighthouse, it lies 29 km off the Pembrokeshire coast on a rocky reef that stands at most 3.6 m above the water. The current granite tower replaced a timber-piled structure described in the Early Lights chapter. In 1978 a helipad was perched on top of the tower to allow for easier access than by boats, which were often delayed by storms for days or weeks. It was also electrified at the time with a diesel generator, but now has both solar panels and small wind turbines to power the lamp.