Cornwall was lit up last night for the Platinum Jubilee, with almost 50 beacons lit over the course of the evening.
Up and down the Duchy towns and parish councils, along with some community groups, organised for the lighting of a beacon as a display of togetherness.
They included at St Michael's Mount in Marazion, which was lit up in red, white and blue as the beacon was lit on the harbour wall.
Other places coming together were the Helston, where a beacon was lit outside the Grylls Monument, and Falmouth, where a beacon was lit at Pendennis Castle.
On the Lizard Peninsula the villages of Manaccan, Helford and St Anthony came together at Roskruge for an evening of food, live music and the beacon lighting.
The beacon is lit at Roskruge, near Manaccan on the Lizard Peninsula Picture: Alison Grose
Another was lit at St Keverne, organised by the parish council with the support of the village fire station, as well as at Mabe and Portloe on the Roseland Peninsula.
You can see a full list of where beacons were lit here: Platinum Jubilee beacon locations in Cornwall: see the list
The beacon lighting at St Keverne, overseen by the village firefighters Picture: Jo Thornhill/Packet Camera Club
The tradition of lighting beacones goes back to Victorian times. In 1897, beacons were lit to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1977, 2002 and 2012, beacons commemorated the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees of The Queen, and in 2016 Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
Beacons marking the Platinum Jubilee were also lit at the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle and the Queen’s estates of Sandringham and Balmoral, along with the tops of the UK’s four highest peaks.
A good crowd of people turned out for the Helston beacon lighting Picture: Gemma Strong/Packet Camera Club
And some were even lit internationally. The first beacons were lit in Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific, and the final one in the central American country of Belize.
On Thursday, there were four types of beacons being lit: A free-standing beacon fuelled by bottle gas, a beacon brazier with a metal shield, a bonfire beacon and a Bishops Frome Strawman.
St Michael's Mount lit up in red, white and blue for the Jubilee beacon lighting Colin Higgs
The beacon at Portloe on the Roseland Peninsula ably built, lit and under watch by Luke Dunstan Picture: Lisa Young/Packet Camera Club
The beacon next to the Grylls Monument in Helston Picture: Gemma Strong/Packet Camera Club
The beacon at Mabe Picture: Melisa Gallie
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