Smeaton's Tower

Plymouth, United Kingdom

High on the Hoe, this is a landmark of Plymouth and often depicted in scenes of the city. It is a lighthouse, currently painted white and red, constructed on Eddystone reef in 1759 at a cost of £40,000 by the engineer John Smeaton. It was an incredible engineering achievement of its time, and has been featured on numerous TV shows including the BBC's Coast. Built of interlocking granite blocks, one of its innovations was that it was shaped like an oak tree (i.e. wider at the base) which enabled it to withstand the sea, on a rock where two previous lighthouses had been washed away. Eventually, it was found the rock it was standing on was being undermined by the sea so it was replaced by a Victorian lighthouse in the 19th century, and Smeaton's Tower was moved to Plymouth Hoe as a monument. It has since become an icon of the city. Climb up for spectacular views and for exhibits on lighthouse life - beware you have to get up by steep ladders, but it's doable and worth it. It is operated by Plymouth City Council and the fee to climb up is £2.60