Britain’s smallest island lies off the south west coast at the western tip of the Scilly Isles. Bishop Rock is also classed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest built-on island in the world. In fact, the only building is a lighthouse, as there isn’t room for anything else. To the west of Bishop Rock, there’s no more land till the American coast, so it bears the full brunt of Atlantic gales. The lighthouse was built with great difficulty – the first one was washed away in 1850 before it could be used. An enormous wave once snatched away the 550lb fog bell. The island has not been inhabited since 1992 when the lighthouse became fully automated and the last keepers left.
The lighthouse features in the BBC’s Seven Man Made Wonders