Repainting Under Way At Beachy Head Lighthouse

One of the most iconic landmarks on the coastline of Britain, Beachy Head Lighthouse, is in the process of getting a new coat of paint.  Its famous red and white stripes will be sparkling once again, as a result of a high profile fundraising campaign that raised some £27,000.

Beachy Head, an iconic landmark

The magnificent efforts of fund raisers came after the owner, Trinity House said that the repainting of the granite built structure could not be justified in economic terms.

Fundraising was complete last November, but Shirley Moth, fundraising organiser of Save Our Stripes said that it took some time to find a firm to do the work and organise supplies of the paint.
"It's a special paint, not particularly for lighthouses, but something that will last for 10 years or more," Ms Moth said. "That took time and the job had to go to tender."

She said the lighthouse used to be repainted every 10 years. If the lighthouse needed repainting in a decade's time, campaigners would fundraise again, she added. "We have still got the fund open and we have still got a bit of money," she said.

Jim Bruckshaw, from Sussex Blast Cleaning, said the team painting the landmark had taken the step of hoarding three weeks' supplies just in case they could not get back to land because of the weather.
He said: "We've got to provide for that, but hopefully the weather looks a bit better, so we will be able to get on and off [the lighthouse]. But the main purpose is to get on with the work and get it done in the window of opportunity we have."

Paint has been loaded on to a boat to take to the working lighthouse, with scaffolding being put up later. Supporters who backed the repainting campaign included broadcaster John Craven, writer Bill Bryson and comedians Eddie Izzard and Griff Rhys Jones.

                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachy_Head_Lighthouse

                                           http://www.beachyheadlighthouse.co.uk/