Pictured above is the Hilbre Island beacon, taken by me on a walk to the island in May, 2016.
According to mariner’s information website Trinity House the beacon is also known as the Hilbre Island lighthouse. It was constructed in 1927 to provide a port landmark for the Hilbre Swash in the River Dee estuary.
Standing at a height of approximately 3 metres, the steel-made automatic beacon was converted from acetylene gas to solar powered operation in 1995. The LED lantern outputs 71 candela (what is candela?) and has a range of 5 nautical miles (NM).
The lighthouse (beacon) is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.
This photo by John Turner (source) is believed to show the remains of the “rocket post” base. Mr Turner says: “At one time a rocket was used to summon the lifeboat men out to Hilbre, and the 1913 and 1927 O.S. maps record a ‘Rocket Post’ on Hilbre at close to this location”.