Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales 18 Nov 2024

With waves crashing against its sturdy base and a stormy sea swirling around, this lighthouse in Porthcawl, Wales, has been standing resilient since 1860. At 9 metres tall, Porthcawl lighthouse, designed by the eminent engineer James Walker, is often pictured being battered by waves when storms hit this coast. The town"s rugged coastline, with its hidden rocky coves, has always posed a perilous challenge to sailors. Porthcawl lighthouse was built to help guide the increasing maritime traffic along the Bristol Channel. This cast-iron lighthouse was the last one in the United Kingdom to be powered by coal and gas. Although it was converted to electric power in 1997, the lighthouse still maintains its historical charm.

© Leighton Collins/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Keyholes to the kingdom
18 Nov 2023Polar bear season in Manitoba
18 Nov 2025Male hooded merganser, Oregon, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

5 Apr 2024The Bahamas
16 Oct 2023Golden larches and Prusik Peak, Enchantments, Washington, USA
Today, a nation was born
23 Sep 2025Keel-billed toucan, Costa Rica
5 Oct 2025World Teachers Day
31 Jul 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
A remote oasis in Texas
11 Dec 2024International Mountain Day
Gravity-defying wonders of the world
2 Jul 2025Spine-cheeked anemonefish
Misty mountain hop
Flying the flag for Pride
Castle in the sky
23 Aug 2025European fallow deer in England
6 Sep 2024Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland, UK
10 Nov 2025Black-tailed prairie dogs, Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA
28 Sep 2025Town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy
15 Oct 2025Amethyst laccaria mushrooms, Seabeck, Washington, United States
5 Sep 20242024 Toronto International Film Festival
9 Dec 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, USA
Alps of the sea
Perfect, pastoral Palouse
24 Apr 2025Spire Cove in Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska, United States
7 Sep 2024Annas hummingbird
17 Jun 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
29 Sep 2025Rainbow houses, Houten, Netherlands
4 Sep 2024Dusky eagle-owls, Pakistan
A day for giving
Butterfly, fly away
12 Jul 2024Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA