the red and white striped St. David's Island lighthouse is Bermuda landmark that has been lighting the way in protecting shipping here since 1879.
From the Bermuda attractions website: (
visit link)
"To get to St. Davids Lighthouse Bermuda, you need to reach St Davids at the far east of the island. So travel along St Davids Main Road from the traffic circle on the far side of the airport to reach St Davids town. From St. George, bus route #6 serves the area. The lighthouse is located on the lighthouse road at Mount Hill. The original town grew up around the British military base built to protect the southern entrance of St George Harbor. The town is still in protection business, but today it looks out for the ships that pass through the waters around Bermuda. St Davids Lighthouse stands on the highest point on the Eastern tip of the island standing on 208 feet above the sea level. It sends its beam 20 miles over the ocean. It was built on a hill top and not on the coastline to ensure longest visibility.
It was built in 1879 mainly to provide signals to the ships so that they didn't come too close to the hidden reefs in the water. It still serves as a beacon for the mariners. The construction of the lighthouse had an interesting background. In the earlier days, the locals here had a practice of wrongly guiding passing ships during nighttime by using some sort of lights. They lured the ships to come close to underwater reefs trying to get them wrecked. If done, that would become an easy prey for them to loot. St. David's Lighthouse was originally built to stop this practice. And when the lighthouse actually defeated such illegal activities, most of them became good fishermen and even expert sailors.
It took 3 years to build this 55-foot structure and the light was activated on November 3, 1879. The original kerosene lamp with an ordinary wick was replaced by a petroleum burner in 1922. Today it also acts as the finishing line for such major yacht races as the Newport Bermuda.
From the balcony at the top, the view is spectacular. There are some 85 odd steps and the climb is relatively easy. You can see the beautiful countryside, Atlantic towards south, Ruth’s Bay to the southwest, and St. George’s to the north. By the way, the movie The Deep used this lighthouse in their story.
St. Davids Lighthouse is a great place to see groups of humpback whales that pass through Bermuda waters in April and May.
Admission & Open Hours
Admission is free. Open daily from 7:30am to 4pm between May and September. Sometimes it remains closed for maintenance.
Location
You can reach St Davis Lighthouse by bus #6 that operates from St George. While visiting from Royal Naval Dockyard, take the direct Orange ferry to St George and then bus #6 to St Davids. From Hamilton City you can reach St George by bus # 10, 11, 1 and 3, and then take bus #6 to St Davids."