Cape Pembroke is the most easterly point of the Falkland Islands and is about 7 miles from Stanley. You turn off the surfaced road near the airport and follow a series of tracks along the peninsula between sanddunes and rocky outcrops. Following rain there are usually lots of very large and muddy puddles or ponds to drive through so that adds a bit to the excitement of going there.
Near the end of the Cape is the lighthouse and by paying £5 at the museum you can borrow the huge metal key to go inside it which we did while John was visiting. There is a string of rocks and reefs running off the north side of the Cape and the almost submerged Billy Rock has claimed 15 ships and many lives over the years.
The 18 metre high cast iron lighthouse was shipped out from London in sections in 1855. The lamp burned more than a thousand gallons of rape seed oil a year and the lighthouse keepers and their families lived in a cottage next to the lighthouse. Supplies were brought in by boat and you can still see the remains of the landing stage. With waves crashing on the rocks on either side it looks a perilous place to land.
It was rebuilt in 1906 as the foundations were collapsing and then a paraffin light was installed which was turned by a clockwork mechanism which required hourly windings. This was in use until the invasion of 1982 when the governor ordered it to be switched off. It was vandalised by the Argentinians and an automatic light has since been installed nearby.
The old lighthouse has been restored to some extent and you can climb up inside, sit inside the remains of the light and walk around the balcony near the top. It was very windy when we went up and you had to hold on very tightly on the balcony but the views were spectacular.
Near the end of the Cape is the lighthouse and by paying £5 at the museum you can borrow the huge metal key to go inside it which we did while John was visiting. There is a string of rocks and reefs running off the north side of the Cape and the almost submerged Billy Rock has claimed 15 ships and many lives over the years.
The 18 metre high cast iron lighthouse was shipped out from London in sections in 1855. The lamp burned more than a thousand gallons of rape seed oil a year and the lighthouse keepers and their families lived in a cottage next to the lighthouse. Supplies were brought in by boat and you can still see the remains of the landing stage. With waves crashing on the rocks on either side it looks a perilous place to land.
It was rebuilt in 1906 as the foundations were collapsing and then a paraffin light was installed which was turned by a clockwork mechanism which required hourly windings. This was in use until the invasion of 1982 when the governor ordered it to be switched off. It was vandalised by the Argentinians and an automatic light has since been installed nearby.
The old lighthouse has been restored to some extent and you can climb up inside, sit inside the remains of the light and walk around the balcony near the top. It was very windy when we went up and you had to hold on very tightly on the balcony but the views were spectacular.
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