Gibbs Hill Lighthouse

Gibbs Hill has warned ships off Bermuda's reefs since 1846 with a tower notable twice over: it stands among the oldest cast-iron lighthouses in the world, its plates shipped from England and bolted together on the island's highest southern hill, and its light still turns. The 185 steps spiral past exhibit landings to a gallery with the island's definitive view - the fishhook of parishes in white roofs and green, the reef line drawn in pale turquoise around everything, and in whale season the spouts of humpbacks passing the south shore. The keeper's cottage below serves tea with the same view at ground level.

What you actually see

• The gallery panorama - the whole island and its reef ring from 362 feet above the sea.
• The cast-iron tower - the 1846 plate construction, climbing through its ribs.
• Whale watching in spring - humpback spouts off the south shore in March and April.
• The exhibit landings - lighthouse history broken into breath-catching stops.

When to go

Year round; clear winter days give the sharpest visibility and March to April adds the humpback migration. The gallery is breezy - pleasant in summer, bracing in winter.

Honest expectations

The 185 steps are steep, narrow and one-way-at-a-time in places - not for the mobility-limited, and the gallery's rail is low enough to concentrate minds with children. The climb fee is modest and honest. High winds occasionally close the gallery; the tearoom view consoles.

Nearby

Horseshoe Bay and the south-shore beaches, and the railway trail below the hill.