More than 30 Welsh lighthouses featured in new illustrated guide

A new illustrated guide from non-fiction publisher Amberley will detail more than 30 lighthouses along the Welsh coast, tracing their histories from construction to the present day.

Lighthouses of Wales by Warren Kovach provides an accessible insight into these vital but often-overlooked buildings.

The 96-page guide will be released on 15 November 2025 in paperback, Kindle, Kobo and iBook formats, featuring 80 immersive images and illustrations.

Beauty 

Many of Wales’ lighthouses are well known structures, located in spots of great natural beauty, but all operate a vital role in warning seafarers of marine hazards and guiding them to safer waters.

Warren Kovach looks at the development of lighthouses in Wales, how they have been operated over the centuries, and the people — architects, lighthouse keepers and their families — that have been involved in their stories.

Alongside the human histories is a story of technological development, the evolution of different types of structure, lamps and lenses, fog signals and the automated future in a world with GPS.

As well as illustrations and photography, the book also includes an appendix listing all the lighthouses, both active and inactive, with handy information such as location, year established, height, etc.

Author

Warren Kovach is the author of the popular Anglesey-History.co.uk website, which highlights aspects of the island’s history, supplemented by many of his own photographs. He has also written several books about Anglesey history as well as the lighthouses of Wales for Amberley.

Born and raised in Ohio, USA, he moved to Anglesey in the early 1990s and soon set about exploring its history and landscape. He is a keen photographer and has had his photos published in many national newspapers, books and magazines around the world.

He is trustee of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society, a volunteer and former trustee of Menai Heritage, and was a tour guide at South Stack Lighthouse on Ynys Lawd, Anglesey.

For those interested in Wales’ maritime history as well as lighthouses, more information about Lighthouses of Wales is available here.