Baltimore Beacon

Borrowing freely from Forrest Gump, I’d venture to say: the Baltimore Beacon is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get!
But joking aside. A visit to the Beacon always holds a little surprise, because you never quite know what will be waiting for you up there. Although you catch a glimpse of the whitewashed tower from afar, it is only after passing the final hilltop that it reveals itself in all its glory. It’s a sight that gets under your skin and stays there. Like a tireless sentinel, the signal tower presides over the cliffs above Baltimore Bay. Sherkin Island rises opposite, and the whole panorama looks almost too perfect to be real.

I’ve visited the Beacon in every season, at every hour of day and night – in howling storms and brilliant sunshine. I’ve watched in wonder as the sun sets behind Sherkin Lighthouse in winter and drifts towards Mount Gabriel in summer. You might think, then, that this location holds no more surprises. Far from it. Every single time I head up to the Beacon, I find myself genuinely curious about what I’ll find. Even if it turns out to be, for a change, simply a herd of cows keeping the grass in perfect shape.