Directions to Start Point and Car Park for Private Groups

 Turn off the A38 at BUCKFASTLEIGH onto the A384 towards TOTNES.

 At the traffic lights in TOTNES turn right on A381 towards KINGSBRIDGE and SALCOMBE.

 Continue on this road, through Harbertonford until you come to HALWELL. Go through the village until you come to the BP garage on your left. Turn left immediately on the A3122 towards DARTMOUTH.

 Go past Woodlands on your right and then the Dartmouth Golf and Country Club on your left. After 400 metres, on the next left hand bend, turn right to STRETE, TORCROSS and SLAPTON. This is a narrow lane but possible for a coach. Follow this lane for three miles.

 At the end of the lane, you come into STRETE. Turn right at the T junction opposite the village shop towards SLAPTON on the A379.

 After dropping down onto the coastal road, continue along ‘the line’ to TORCROSS where you will see the WWII tank in the car park on the right hand side together with the TOILETS. Pull in here and use them. We only have one toilet at the lighthouse.

 Continue on this road through TORCROSS to the mini-roundabout in STOKENHAM called ‘Carehouse Cross’. Turn sharp left signposted to EAST PORTLEMOUTH and brown signs to Start Point Lighthouse. You are now 4 miles from the car park but these lanes are slow and narrow.

 After 2 miles, the main road continues round to the right and you fork off left following the brown signs again, signposted START POINT, KELLATON and HALLSANDS. You are heading towards the two very tall radio masts with no sign of the lighthouse yet!

 After 2 miles, a private road takes over with a sign for Start Point Car Park and Start Point Lighthouse. You eventually go past the two tall aerials and you will come into the grassy car park. Please park here.

 Journey from Totnes will take about 50 - 60 minutes. Journey time from Strete will take about 25 – 30 minutes.

 Your Tour Guide will be waiting for you. If you are running late they would appreciate a telephone call to the lighthouse on 01548 580225.

 A group visit to Start Point Lighthouse

 Group visits are organised wherever possible outside our advertised opening times  Our Tour Guide is opening especially for your group so please:

 Make sure you arrive on time

A sheet of directions and approximate journey times are available to you  If you are running late, a telephone call to the Lighthouse would be appreciated.  It takes 15 minutes to walk down to the lighthouse from the car park. It is a good tarmac road downhill but a bit of a climb back up!

General information and contact numbers are listed below.

Start Point Lighthouse 01548 580225 Mobile telephone numbers do work in the area but not everywhere.

Start Point Car Park is manned from Easter to the end of September. Car parking is charged during this time.

Closest beach: Lannacombe. 15 mins walk. Reasonable footwear required

Closest refreshments: South Allington House. Tel: 01548 511272 The Cricket Inn, Beesands Tel: 01548 580215

Closest toilets: South Allington House Stokeley Farm Shop, Stokenham

Closest public toilets: Beesands, Torcross

Other interests in the area: The tank at Torcross. The ruined village of South Hallsands. No access any longer but a viewing point in the village.

Charges for Tours The cost for an adult ticket is £2.80 The cost for a child's ticket is £1.50 A family ticket (2 adults + 2 children) is £7.50 On a Group visit, one in 10 goes free. Two teachers are admitted free. The Tour of the Lighthouse

This takes 40 – 60 minutes depending on the age of your group and the interest level. It can be tailor made so just ask! If you have specific interests – e.g. natural history, social history, sailing, etc please let us know. We aim to make the tour interesting and entertaining for all ages.

We are allowed 20 people in the lantern room at one time. If your group is larger than this we try to keep the group together until the flag room where we split the group leaving some to wait with a ‘nominated’ leader until we can swap over. In this case, the tour can be tailored in time to fit your schedule.

There is a small shop at the lighthouse selling books, cards, a guidebook, tea towels, playing cards and pocket money toys. We open it at the end of the Tour (unless you specifically ask us not to).

We only have one toilet at the lighthouse. We recommend you use the public toilets at Torcross prior to your visit if you are a large group.

We intend to make your visit enjoyable and informative. If you have any further queries please get back to me by email or telephone.

Mary Newman Blackpool & Start Estate [email protected]

01803 770661 078 554 83 865

 General Information and Safety at this Lighthouse

This is a fully operational lighthouse and is provided to ensure the safety of mariners and for the protection of shipping. It is private property owned and operated by the Corporation of Trinity House.

This lighthouse is open to the public. However, Trinity House reserves the right to close this facility to the public at any time for operational reasons.

As are part of this country’s heritage, many are listed buildings and cannot be structurally altered to adhere to modern building safety standards. We therefore ask you to take great care when visiting our lighthouse and adhere to the safety rules printed and to follow any safety instructions given to you by our guides.

In order to ensure the safety of children visiting our lighthouses, those below one metre in height may not climb the steps in the lighthouse tower. This is because certain design features within the tower would make it unsafe for them to do so. We apologise for any disappointment of inconvenience this might cause but it is in the genuine interest of you and your family’s safety.

Automatic fog warning signals are used at some locations and these are signposted accordingly. Fog signals may start without warning and are very loud. Although they may startle, they will not damage your hearing.

There may exist operational RADAR and electronic Aids to Navigation on or around this lighthouse. They have been assessed and are not a risk to health. If you have a cardiac pacemaker, please mention this to the guide and avoid going within 2 metres of any rotating RADAR. Although rare, some frequencies might interfere with the efficiency of your pacemaker.

Please do not tamper with any controls or drop litter and please report any spillages to your guide.

Thank you for your anticipated co-operation and please enjoy your visit.

Stephen Durham Health and Safety Manager Trinity House The Quay C012 3JW

 Health & Safety Notice

 Restrictions to ascending the Lighthouse tower staircases

 Anyone wishing to ascend the lighthouse stairs must be a minimum of 1 metre in height.  Children are very welcome, but they must be physically capable of ascending and descending the staircases unaided.  Under no circumstances can children or babies be carried up the staircases, this includes the use of baby carriers, papooses, etc.  Sensible footwear must be worn if you wish to ascend the lighthouse tower. Open toe sandals (without heel straps), flip-flops and high-heeled footwear are not permitted.  Some staircases are very steep and must be descended facing the stair. The Tour Guide will inform you if this is necessary.  Trinity House regrets that due to the historic design of the building, these premises are not suitable for some physically less able people.  Anyone suffering from vertigo, heart or respiratory conditions is advised not to undertake the tour.  The Tour Guide will give further advice on the above conditions, but has absolute discretion in preventing access if it is felt that Health and Safety regulations or the safety of the visitor or other members of the public would be compromised.