Ever dreamed of living in a lighthouse? Majestic on candy-striped cliffs, Hunstanton lighthouse is now a unique self-catering heritage property and landmark of Norfolk’s proud maritime history. Sleeping up to 8 in 4 luxury en-suite bedrooms, it’s gloriously warm and snug, perfect for cosying up with a hot chocolate or G&T to watch wild winter storms roar in across the North Sea, with binoculars and a telescope to keep a look-out at the ever-changing picture.

Before the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1921, two lighthouse keepers lived here, tending a beam that shone out over the waves for 18 miles. The lighthouse sits next the former Coastguard station and picturesque ruins of St Edmund’s Church. During the First World War, a Marconi radio interception tower stood here and in the Second World War the lighthouse was used by the Royal Observer Corps, when fears of invasion were very real.

Hunstanton’s first lighthouse was built in 1665, when a fire blazed from a metal basket atop a wooden structure. Inevitably it burnt down in 1777. A second wooden tower was built in 1778, one of the first oil lamp lighthouses. In 1837 Trinty House bought it, rebuilding the lighthouse in its current form between 1840-1844. The light has gone now, but guests can still climb 85 winding steps to the top, for stunning panoramic coastal views over the Wash, all the way to Lincolnshire on a crystal clear day.

To book contact Norfolk Coast Cottages.