a fishing boat leaves for the open sea
looking back to the harbour of St Johns
to visit the bunkers and guns you have to negotiate the fence
the Cabot Tower
the lighthouse dates from 1954
the housing for the lighthouse keeper and family
a nice place to contemplate, but watch the waves
Fort Amherst is a small community at the south side of The Narrows opposite Signal Hill. The place is named after
William
Amherst, commander of the victorious British troops at the Battle of Signal Hill in 1762.
To protect St Johns against unfriendly
French and international pirates,
defensive batteries with heavy guns were erected at the tip of the Narrows.
Bunkers
and better guns were added over the following two centuries and remained in operation until the end of WW II.
The
facilities were finally decommissioned in 1946 and since then Mother Nature works hard to slowly but surely erode the guns, barracks
and concrete.
In 1813 Newfoundland's first lighthouse was constructed right above the battery. It was torn
down in 1954 and replaced by a wooden lighthouse, including a fog horn.
In early summer this is a favorite spot to watch
icebergs and spouting whales.
We were here on a nice day in September 2017.
you have to walk the last 300 meters to the lighthouse
a first glimpse of the bunkers
on the other side of the Narrows Signal Hill rises 140 meters high
part of the sometimes tricky North Head Trail along SIgnal Hill