New tourist attraction to open in Alderney

Thursday, 10 July 2025 07:20

The Channel Islands' only purpose-built Napoleonic signalling tower will open as a museum.

Telegraph Tower sits at the highest point on Alderney's south-west cliffs, close to the airport perimeter.

It was built in the early 1800s to alert the authorities in the Channel Islands to the presence of French shipping during the Napoleonic wars.

The tower fell into disrepair but was leased out by the States and renovated privately in the mid 1990s to become a home, with views of the other Channel islands and France.

Caroline Gauvain from Visit Alderney could see its potential and pressed for it to become a museum:

"We were given permission in 2022 and volunteers cleared the site.

"Then it was put on hold until a carpenter locally made brand new windows which were ready by the end of last year. Now it's in a condition where visitors can enter it again."

She has worked with local historians and inside there will be information on the the tower's history, its military significance and displays of early signalling technology:

"I don't think people realise what it was actually used for. This is how people sort of sent text messages 200 years ago, it's amazing."

Telegraph Tower will open to the public on 23 July. Guernsey's Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Cripwell will attend the ceremony.