起点灯塔，德文郡，英国 Start Point Lighthouse, South Devon, England (© Guy Edwardes/Minden Pictures)

起点灯塔，德文郡，英国 Start Point Lighthouse, South Devon, England (© Guy Edwardes/Minden Pictures)

海上哨兵 Sentinel of the sea

国际灯塔周

每年8月的第三个周末，世界各地的灯塔爱好者和航海历史爱好者都会聚在一起庆祝国际灯塔周，纪念这些标志性建筑的悠久历史和关键作用。人们可以走进这些灯塔，亲眼见证这些巨大的灯塔通过将灯光、仪器和精密的工程技术巧妙地结合在一起来发挥作用。

起点灯塔就是这些灯塔中的一座，它高高地矗立在英国德文郡崎岖的悬崖上，俯瞰着英吉利海峡。这座优雅的灯塔建于1836年，由英国土木工程师詹姆斯·沃克设计，其明亮的光束指引着船只安全通行。这个日子也提醒着我们，灯塔在航海历史中起到的重要作用。

International Lighthouse Weekend

To mark International Lighthouse Weekend, we're on England's southwest coast, where Start Point Lighthouse looks out over the turbulent waters of the English Channel. The lighthouse is perched upon a rugged cliff on one of the country's most exposed peninsulas, which stretches nearly a mile into the sea in the county of Devon. Built in 1836, the elegant lighthouse was designed by civil engineer James Walker in the Gothic style, as seen in its castle-like parapet. It has undergone many changes since then and more accommodation was added in the 1870s, but no lighthouse keepers live there now—it has been automated since 1993.