Avery Point, New London Ledge, and New London Harbor

    Rob and I both took the Monday after Columbus Day off from work with a trip to the Berkshires in mind. We wanted it to be our final lighthouse hunt of the season. Yes, there is technically a lighthouse in western Mass – Mount Greylock. But after it was built, the powers that be decided it was too pretty and wouldn’t survive the water and winters in Boston, to it was installed at the top of the highest mountain in Massachusetts as a monument. Unfortunately, the weather was not mountain-top ideal – wind, rain, fog. We weren’t going to see any foliage in that weather. We also didn’t want to drive 3 hours each way and pay for a motel (even a cheap one) for nothing. Even though the weather was going to be terrible no matter which direction we went in, we still had a day off. As always, Rob came up with a brilliant plan.

    For our Berkshires trip, we had also planned a side stop to a book barn over the New York border. The only type of destination we love more than lighthouses is bookstores, so he searched for other book barns in the area (yes, we’ve already visited the Montague Book Mill near Amherst). He found the Book Barn in Niantic, CT. And there just happens to be three lighthouses nearby. Hot dang!

    All three lights can be viewed from the University of Connecticut in Groton, overlooking the Thames River. This is the ideal viewing place – it’s open to the public and parking free. You will see the first two from the lot – New London Harbor (or “Pequot Avenue,” 1801) on the western side, and New LondonLedge (1909) in the middle of the river. Walk along the water and you’ll arrive at Avery Point Lighthouse (1944).

    N.L. Harbor is a classic conical white tower. The original 1761 structure was the first lighthouse built in Connecticut and the fourth in the U.S., but only lasted until 1800. The current tower is the tallest in the state and, incredibly, still uses the fourth order Fresnel lens from 1851, despite being automated in 1917. The light and land are privately owned, but this past summer the New London Maritime Society gave the first ever tours.

    N.L. Ledge was built so close to N.L. Harbor because the first light could not prevent ships from crashing into the coast. The local citizens begged for over 100 years for another lighthouse. When their wish was finally granted, they wouldn’t accept any old lighthouse – it had to fit in with the neighborhood. Apparently, beggars can be choosers. Hence the mansion-style structure with a tower. Tours are given three days a week in summer and Saturdays in fall.

    The UConn campus is home to Avery Point Lighthouse. It’s not an official light – it was built in 1944, only in use until 1967, and left to rot until the 90s. The many lighthouses that have been rescued, restored and cared-for are testament to how much Americans treasure their local history. This one is no exception. Half a million dollars and many years later, local volunteers and craftsman have rebuilt this with their time and resources. The small tower even contains a beautiful solar-powered, hanging LED lantern. Unfortunately, the tower is closed to visitors. But you can still sneak a peek in the window.

Avery Point also gives visitors the advantage of seeing two other lighthouses in the distance in Long Island Sound – Race Rock and Little Gull Island.

    The Book Barn was a half hour drive, and we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Halloween-decorated grounds and buildings full of books. They even had a couple of lighthouses in their garden.

One of the many cats.

The bill goat:

When Rob saw this he declared, “these people are nerds. Card-carrying nerds. Love it!”

    What we loved even more were the prices. $1 paperbacks. $5-6 hard covers. But out of all the books we bought, we were most pleased with Vols. 1 and 6 of the Durants’ The Story of Civilization… for $3 each! I repeat, hot dang! Now our collection is complete.

    We ate at Charlie’s Place across the street (excellent), drove home just as the rain was starting, and spent the night watching the first season of Heroes.
And that, my friends, is how you spend a day off.

Watch Hill in Westerly, RI

Neither of us was impressed by Watch Hill (1856).
It resembles Beavertail in Jamestown, but this is coast guard territory surrounded by private property. It doesn’t have the picnic-worthy expanse or the adventurous rocky coast. Of course, the ocean is beautiful, and it’s just a short walk from the carousel and shops. There were some people fishing the day we went, but overall there’s a restrictive feel; you can’t relax here.

 

Our First Lighthouse Hunt

The first time Rob & I hit the road with the sole purpose of seeing lighthouses was his birthday in 2010. We chose one of those rare, perfect September days, and it was a blast!
We mapped out a route along the southeast coast of Mass., but first we started on the East Providence bike path, which has a decent view of Pomham Rocks (1871) in the river. It’s obscure but pretty, and until that year, it was owned by ExxonMobile. The oil conglomerate bought it in 1981, but for unknown reasons decided to donate it to the Friends of Pomham Rocks, a local chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation.

 

We got back on 95 south and crossed into Fall River to see Borden Flats (1881). We took a left off exit 5 to get to the Borden Flats Marina, which has a restaurant and outdoor lounge. Some people may look at you oddly for walking in, taking a picture of the tiny lighthouse with the hulking power plant in the background and then leaving. You’ll never see them again – onward to New Bedford.

Clarks Point  (1869, at Fort Taber), Butler Flats (1898), and Palmer Island are with 2.8 miles of each other. For the first two, just park at the fort and walk down the breakwater to see both.
Butler Flats is a sparkplug in the channel, so it’s completely inaccessible. Make sure your camera has a good zoom.

 

The fort is another story.
We didn’t know you weren’t supposed to go inside, not that we got very far. We got to only the first hallway, then turned and ran at the same time. It was a combination of seeing the broken beer bottles, the apparent homeless camp, and an inexplicable tingling in the spine telling us to get out of there. No offense to the homeless, and we’re not entirely convinced of ghosts and hauntings, but this is one fort we will never explore. It’s a massive, dark, labyrinthine place – just stick to the exterior and you’ll get some decent shots. 

By the time we got to Palmer Island (1849) it was already getting late (we like our sleep on the weekends). Between the hurricane of 38, arson, and vandalism, this light should be gone, but the good people of New Bedford won’t give up on it. It’s tricky to get to (and only at low-tide), and we barely got out! Park across the street, walk the hurricane barrier, get onto the beach area, and keep to the left to get to the northern tip of the island. I stayed behind on the beach area to text him when the tide was coming back in. I picked some shells, people watched, and relaxed. As the water got closer, I discovered that I didn’t have a cell signal. I also had no idea where Rob was. So I waited… toe-tapping… no Rob. So I did the only reasonable thing I could think of – started yelling his name. A guy walking past with his dog looked at me funny – like I wasn’t used to that! And it worked! Poison ivy and oak be damned, the birthday boy came bounding down through the brush in the center of the island, “I got the shot,” grabbed my hand and we ran through the watery beach.

The nerd-flag was flying high this day, my friends.

We lost some time getting lost on the way to Mattapoisett, but it turned out for the best – we got to Ned’s Point (1838) at sunset! Maybe I wouldn’t have liked it that much otherwise. That’s my favorite time of day – you don’t see those brilliant, naturally occurring ombre colors any other time. The land is a well-kept veteran’s memorial park, and on certain days in summer the lighthouse is open to visitors. We took the most photos this one (look, it’s a robot!).

Bird Island was so close, but the sun was gone and our friends were already texting us that they had a table at the restaurant… and we were an hour from home. Good thing they love us.