All civilisations have faced the challenges of trading by sea: storms, bad weather, and the hazards of cliffs and other natural landmarks that threaten their safe passage into ports and harbours. To guard against this, their people built lighthouses - first as simple fi res on hillsides, but soon these turned to grand towers and buildings that cycled through each scientific advancement as it came. Lighthouses have now become part of the landscape.

Aided by beautiful photographs from all four corners of the British Isles, Nicholas Leach presents the story of the lighthouse and its development, from the earliest lights to the modern navigational aids.