Panorama taken from the viewing area at the top of South Foreland Lighthouse near Dover. The view from here is spectacular, on a clear day it is possible to see over the Straits of Dover to France. Picture taken late September 2009.

View from South Foreland Lighthouse - Dover visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'View from South Foreland Lighthouse' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Kent.

South Foreland Lighthouse stands on the top of the White Cliffs of Dover about a mile from St Margarets at Cliffe village. It has commanding views over the Straits of Dover and the surrounding countryside in Kent, guiding ships over the treacherous Goodwin Sands which has claimed thousands of vessels over the centuries. The lighthouse is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public as one of the tourist attractions near Dover.

Lights have illuminated the approach to the Port of Dover since pre-Roman times. The earliest forms were fire beacons. The Romans built lighthouses, and an example still stands in the ground of Dover Castle. South Foreland Lighthouse was built in 1843 and lit up the straits until 1988. The lighthouse saw four important historic achievements, the installation of the first electrically-powered lighthouse lamp, and the transmission of the first ship-to-shore and international radio messages, the first recipient of a ship-to-shore distress signal and the first participant in an international broadcast (with Wimereux in France).

Today, South Foreland Lighthouse is a popular destination for walks along the cliffs from Dover, with guided tours and children's activities.

South Foreshore Lighthouse
The Front, St Margaret's Bay,
Dover, Kent CT15 6HP
Telephone: 01304 852463

Train: Dover Priory Station (3.5 miles walk), Martin Mill (2.5 miles).
Bus: Bay Hill (1 mile away) on the Canterbury-Dover-Deal bus.
Road: Nearest parking at St Margaret's (1 mile) or the National Trust Visitor Centre on Bockel Hill (1.5 miles).