The distant sound of a lighthouse can be a part of coastal life that really adds to the maritime ambience.
For those living near Land’s End, however, any sense of whimsy has worn off. A fog alarm at Longships Lighthouse, just off the Cornish headland, has been going off every 13 seconds for the past week.
Local people have been advised to invest in a set of earplugs while visitors heading to the tourist destination said they feared being kept awake at night.
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Gwennap Head, a maritime charity, said on social media that the horn had been sounding “all day, all night” and “a set of earplugs might be a good investment”.
In a statement, it said: “Anyone living in the area may have noticed that, for the past six days, the Longships Lighthouse has been sounding its foghorn every 13 seconds … all day and all night.
“Our watchkeeper has reported this ‘interesting’ occurrence to HM Coastguard Falmouth and they, in turn, have reported it to Trinity House. It has been fed back to us that Trinity House are aware of the problem; apparently, there is a fault in the fog sensing mechanism and they are awaiting delivery of a part to fix it.
“Of course, once the part has arrived, the maintenance crew will still have to wait for calm enough weather conditions to allow them to get out to the lighthouse and install it. In the meantime, a set of earplugs might be a good investment.”
Trinity House, which manages more than 60 lighthouses across the UK, said there was an issue with the “audible hazard warning signal” on Longships, whichit planned to fix.
It told the BBC: “It will likely be an issue with the visibility sensor not functioning as expected. The hazard warning signal indicates diminished visibility in the area, such as fog.”
David Hocking, of Land’s End Landmark, said the continuous beeping was “a bit of a talking point and conversation starter” in the area.
A tourist visiting the spot told the BBC it was “the noisiest sunset I’ve seen so far”. Another said she hoped the alarm would have been “silenced” overnight. “It’s been going for a week I think. This is not normal for Cornwall.”
Another visitor said the alarm was “noisy”, adding that it would “probably keep me awake”, but a visitor staying nearby said they could not hear the noise from their room.
The high-pitched electronic beep, which is usually only heard during foggy conditions, has gone off despite the skies having been fog free this week. The alarm can be heard most clearly at Land’s End, but residents in nearby villages including Sennen and Cape Cornwall have reported hearing it too.
Longships Lighthouse was built in 1875. It is 115ft (35 metres) tall and is located about 1.25 miles (2km) off Land’s End. It was crewed by resident lighthouse-keepers until 1987, when it became automated. Since then it has been monitored and controlled by Trinity House from the company’s planning centre in Harwich, Essex.
