Pictures have revealed the inside of a remote Gower lighthouse as it returned to operation for one weekend as part of a celebration of it's history over jubilee weekend.
Whiteford Lighthouse on the north west of the Gower Peninsula was last occupied in 1933 but has Welsh withstood the test of time. The 61-ft tall building stands prominently in the middle of the sea and is the only one of its kind left in the UK. Admirers have worked to bring it back to operation, temporarily, once again.
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The piece of history has attracted attention far and wide. It was constructed by the Llanelli Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners in 1865 to mark the south side of the channel to the port of Llanelli, replacing an earlier wooden structure built in 1854.
It stands alone on a vast two-mile expanse of beach leading out along the edge of the Loughor Estuary and over looks Llanelli, Burry Port and the Gower. You can read more stories about Gower here.
It is understood that the last time the lighthouse was lit was in 1926 when Queen Elizabeth was born, now a handful of local admirers of the site have sought to return it to it's former glory.
On Jubilee weekend, as part of a celebration of the lighthouse and the Queen's time spent serving her country, a collection of individuals had installed temporary LED lights whilst exploring the historical property.
Paul Brookfield a businessman from Llanelli sought with the aid of others to "relight" the jewel in time for the Queen's jubilee. With the effort of local electricians David Kieft and James Mainwaring, expert knowledge from cockle pickers Ben Jones and Brian Jones and industrial climbers Frederic Picot and Andrew Butler, the team successfully returned the lighthouse to it's former glory with the use of solar powered LEDs.
Sharing spectacular images and visuals online, photos explored the historic lighthouse in a never-before-seen setting with hopes of maintaining the landmark for well into the future.
"It was an outstanding group effort from everyone involved, we've all lived in that area and wanted to do something special for the Queen's jubilee which is where the idea started from," said Andrew Butler, an experienced industrial climber.
Two large LED lights were installed by the industrial climbers, one directed towards Penclawdd while the other was pointed in the direction of Llanelli in celebration of the lighthouse's history.
"We had local cockle pickers help us with the tide, electricians help us set everything up, it was a a great local effort to celebrate the landmark and one that will be remembered for a long time," Andrew said.
"We worked hard to keep the site intact and not risk damaging it in any capacity, we returned everything to as it once was. We took photos and explored a step back in time, people used to live in that in the 1800s - it was remarkable, I loved it and made me proud to do it."
Plans are now to explore how best to maintain the historic lighthouse for future generations.
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