National Trust South Foreland Lighthouse Reviews Summary

Lighthouse Tours

Pros:

• "The tours are very interesting and show the whole of the lighthouse from basement to upper gantry."
• "A very interactive tour and you are encouraged to examine some of the features in more detail."
• "Can do a tour of the light house which is quite an interesting experience and learn about the history of the coastline."
• "Doing the lighthouse tour was so insightful and gave depth of appreciation to an already amazing area."
• "Joined in the tour of the lighthouse. Which was great and got to know about the history behind the building and location."
• "The tour guide was an old local lady who was incredibly nice and talked us through the whole building."
• "The tour of the lighthouse is well worth it and it was fascinating to learn of the history in the area."

Cons:

• "I paid for a tour of the lighthouse - it was okay but there wasn't all that much to see."
• "It was interesting but it was not timed right it needs to have set times and groups of people being shown round."
• "It became a little chaotic at times as people did not understand as there were no instructions."
• "The light house is closed on week days so unfortunately we couldn’t get a tour."
• "Unfortunately it was not open when we went and as we walked for the other side there where no signs up so went by Google and when we got there it was closed so was a bit disappointed."
• "Was closed the day we went to go up inside, but it was still pretty charming."
• "Unfortunately, we went late and couldn't go up the lighthouse."

Tea Room and Catering

Pros:

• "Coffee and cake were lovely and the service great."
• "Tea room serves a nice choice of cakes, and a few savoury items that suit well with the teas and coffees available."
• "The scones were delicious and so was the cake."
• "The tea room has really nice tea, cakes etc. to offer."
• "The tea was absolutely delicious though!!"
• "The tea and scones were great. They serve the tea from tea sets they obtain from estate sales so they are all interesting sets."
• "Scones were delicious. Worth the visit. Value for money."

Cons:

• "The cafe is at the back of the lighthouse and was extremely busy during my visit."
• "Nice little tea house. Like everything else in the area, the cost to actually go in is not worth it."
• "Limited catering, though you have the café at the main car park for that."
• "The tearoom inside was a welcome sight on a warm day having walked all the way along the coastline but was limited in product and almost a bit too traditional."
• "Let down only by the awful tea room. Scones and sandwiches might be nice but they had run out of them."
• "I can't give 5 stars just because of the tea room... regarding the food and cleaning standards in the place. Lovely. But need improvement."
• "It was cosy really warm we had the cream tea where you get scones and a pot of tea for £5.50, but sadly there was no clotted cream for the scones."

Scenery and Location

Pros:

• "The scenery on the tower is also good, although it is cloudy, you can also see France vaguely."
• "One thing which stands out from our experience is, the views along the hike are breathtaking, truly stunning."
• "The walk to the light house was an adventure in itself. It offers a stunning view."
• "A very picturesque lighthouse sitting on top of the white cliffs walk."
• "The view from the garden was absolutely amazing! All you can see is deep blue sea!"
• "Beautiful view of France on a clear day."
• "The views of the White Cliffs are stunning and just 5’ from the lighthouse."

Cons:

• "It was also incredibly windy."
• "Once at the top the chalk path is rough and bumpy and any views mainly blocked by houses."
• "Just is unbelievable that such a beautiful place is next to the not nice and dirty city."
• "The light house itself is nothing special but the location on the top of the White Cliffs of Dover make it special."
• "Unfortunately, when I was there, the entire area was shut without any explanation anywhere."
• "The day I went, it was perfect weather - but I can imagine it's not so nice in bad weather."
• "It was a lovely sunny day albeit chilly. Despite this I may have chosen the wrong day to explore."

Accessibility and Facilities

Pros:

• "They even provide free blankets you can use for the occasion."
• "This place is truly a treasure. The new trails are a godsend and allow anyone even partially mobile to easily walk all the way to the lighthouse."
• "A great place to visit for family. The location of the lighthouse is often very tranquile."
• "Get some good hiking shoes because it's a good haul to get to it along the beautiful White Cliffs Of Dover."
• "They have family sized benches to sit and recover after the somewhat steep climb you would have to make to get here."
• "There are also public bathrooms before you start your long journey back to the car park."
• "It has super clean, modern toilets, a little shop, tea rooms, water refill and places to clean off muddy or dusty boots."

Cons:

• "It's currently under-construction, so there's scaffolding everywhere."
• "You are unable to drive to the lighthouse but have two options if you plan to visit by car."
• "Be forewarned, there is no way to get a taxi to the light house so be prepared to walk a bit more."
• "Parking is for disabled only but access via footpaths from village centre is easy except for wheelchairs/buggies."
• "The trail along the cliffs is relatively tricky, not for elderly people and challenging with very little kids."
• "My only criticism was how far it is to park if you follow the National Trust's instructions!"
• "There is no parking here so you have to walk either along the cliffs (50 mins from the NT visitors centre) or use the service road (a bit quicker)."