The lighthouse at the end of Porthcawl's harbour breakwater is the town's most-photographed object — a slim, cast-iron tower painted white with a black band, just six metres tall. It marks the entrance to the small tidal harbour and is the obvious end-point of an esplanade walk.
The breakwater behind it is the spectacle in winter. Atlantic swells funnelled up the Bristol Channel break against the south-westerly facing wall, and the lighthouse regularly disappears in spray fifteen metres tall. It is a popular subject for storm photographers and a serious hazard for anyone foolish enough to walk to the end during a gale.