Sarah Kerr, The British Lighthouse Trail, a Regional Guide

It seems appropriate that Sarah Kerr was raised on an island off the south coast of England and lives in the far north of Scotland since her book illustrates and details more than 600 lighthouses from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, where the bulk -294 -are located.The data enables readers to follow a coastal trail of navigational aids including in the Bristol Channel and Thames Estuary, and on remote islands like Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, and the Hebrides.This guide to "fixed structure[s] that w[ere] built to exhibit a light for the purpose of aiding maritime navigation and allow access for at least one part of it" is not meant to describe approaches to lights from seaward (IX).The book tells us how to practically and wisely approach these engineering marvels from shore -and return in one piece.Kerr is a proven pharologist who spent months trekking coasts to remote lights, and photographing, documenting, and describing lighthouses.It is her wish to provide "a regional guide to lighthouses throughout the mainland and islands" meant to help readers "on your lighthouse trail as you travel to many of our nation's iconic, unique, and awe-inspiring maritime aids to navigation" (VII).She blends coverage of her chosen lights with hard data, vivid color photos and more than 25 maps.Many of the images show the vessels the lights are designed to protect in the near or far distance.The book disclaims any use "to assist maritime navigation," and excludes unlit daymarks, light vessels, light towers without any access, those that have been de-capped or sealed off, and non-maritime lights.She covers traditional lights, covering position, location, establishment, notable designers, description, and characteristics, giving bespoke information on how to access sites safely and intelligently.Chart 1, Region 1, Shetland, covers no fewer than 49 lights from Muckle Flugga and its old sector in the far north and Fair Isle South, on a small islet south of Shetland.Who would have known there