One could easily spend an entire afternoon here at the Ferryland Head lighthouse. There’s a beautiful landscape with ocean views surrounding the tower, and during the open season you can go inside the dwelling and learn more about the history of the lighthouse. If you’re looking for a place here in Newfoundland to have a picnic and relax, look no further.
The lighthouse here at Ferryland Head was built in 1871 and stands approximately 14 metres tall. It features a lantern room (original to 1871) with triangular pane windows that used to house a third-order lens with a fixed white light. This lens was replaced with kerosene in 1921, but, I believe the original lens can be found inside the dwelling now.
The lighthouse is cylindrical-shaped and made of stone and brick. At some point the brickwork started cracking and the decision was made to cover the tower with a bright red iron casing to protect the original build. This decision has proven a good one because the lighthouse stands tall and strong to this day.
I dearly wish to go inside a lighthouse one of these days during my adventure to see them all. Is that a possibility? Is there a lightkeeper out there somewhere that would allow me to go inside one of the lighthouses on this island? Imagine the views from up in the crow’s nest at Ferryland Head… breathtaking to say the least I’m sure.
The first lightkeeper at the Ferryland Head lighthouse is listed as Michael Kearney. Before electricity reached the tower in 1931, it was the lightkeeper’s duty to maintain the light and keep it shining bright for mariners at sea. It seems that almost every corner of this island has a lighthouse, and that’s certainly a good thing. These lighthouses had a dwelling attached but most of them had the original dwelling torn down. However, the two-story, wooden dwelling here at Ferryland Head still stands today.
I tried my best to photograph all sides of the lighthouse and dwelling for your viewing pleasure, but photographs truly don’t do this station justice for it’s beauty and character. There are also multiple small walking trails around the station that made me feel so much peace. All I wanted to do was sit in the grass and stay a spell, so that’s what I did. I soaked up the sun, felt the ocean breeze on my skin, and admired the station from various angles from the grassy fields surrounding.
I highly recommend visiting this lighthouse during the warmer seasons and spending an afternoon here to relax and enjoy the views. You won’t regret it and if you have the opportunity to go inside the dwelling (or the lighthouse) please let me know what it was like in a comment below. I didn’t go inside the dwelling but I may go back and visit again this summer so I can learn more about this station. I peeped through one of the windows and it looked very interesting inside with a lot of history to tell.
Until next time…
Whoa Dana 