Name and Location

Faro de Torres is an active coastal lighthouse located in Campa Torres, Gijón-Oeste, Asturias, Spain. The lighthouse marks the approaches to the Port of Gijón (Puerto Musel) on the northern coast of Spain.

Location

The lighthouse can be found at Barrio Campa Torres, 1A, Gijón-Oeste, 33212 Gijón, Asturias, Spain. The coordinates are 43°34′18.8″ N, 5°41′57.2″ W.

Construction and History

The construction date of Faro de Torres is not recorded in publicly available seamark data. The lighthouse serves as a navigational aid for merchant and fishing vessels, as well as a local landmark overlooking the Cantabrian Sea.

Architecture and Materials

The tower height is 12 meters (seamark:landmark:height = 12), with a focal plane at 82 meters above mean sea level. The structure consists of a slender cylindrical tower rising from a single-storey keeper’s annex, presumed to be made of concrete or masonry construction.

Light and Navigation

The light characteristic is a group of two white flashes every 10 seconds (Fl(2) W 10 s), with a nominal range of 18 nautical miles. The lighthouse is fully automated and solar-powered.

Accessibility and Visiting

The site and exterior of the tower can be reached on foot by a paved service road ending at the lighthouse. However, the interior is not open for public tours. A small lay-by near the base of the hill provides parking, best reached by car or local taxi from central Gijón.

Notable Views and Landscape

Perched 82 meters above sea level, Faro de Torres commands panoramic views of the inner harbour and quay walls of Puerto Musel to the south, sandy beaches and headlands extending westward toward Cabo de Peñas, and the Cantabrian Sea to the north.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Some local anglers claim that on foggy winter mornings, the light appears to “float” above the mist, earning it an informal nickname “El faro flotante” (“the floating lighthouse”), although this is not recorded in any official source.

Technical and Operational Details

The managing authority of Faro de Torres is the Autoridad Portuaria de Gijón (Port Authority of Gijón) under Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (Spain). The light mechanism is fully automated, with no resident keepers. Charted on BA 1753 (Bay of Biscay, Eastern Part) and Spanish chart 1111 (Puerto de Gijón).

Further Information

For further information, please visit the OpenStreetMap node/29822096 at https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/29822096, the Admiralty List of Lights volume D: entry D 1596, or the Autoridad Portuaria de Gijón website at www.puertogijon.es.