South Stack Lighthouse

Off the northwest corner of Anglesey, Wales, is a tiny island called South Stack, or Ynys Lawd in Welsh. It contains a lighthouse, and is connected to a larger landmass, Holy Island, by a narrow footbridge. Holy Island, in its turn, is connected to the Isle of Anglesey by two road links. Anglesey, in its turn, is connected to mainland Wales by two more bridges.

These islands were once connected to the main land mass as well, but thousands of years of erosion caused by waves dashing against the rocks separated them into sea stacks.

The South Stack Lighthouse was completed in 1809 and sits 41 meters (135 feet) above the sea. The footbridge that allows access to the lighthouse is a more recent addition, built in the 1990s. It replaced an older bridge that was closed due to safety concerns. Before the first bridge to South Stack was built in 1828, the only way to reach the island was in a basket suspended from a cable.