Years ago, our family took a trip to jolly old England. We were looking for something different to do and somewhere different to stay. We landed at a

unique lighthouse in a corner of southern Wales. It was the experience of the trip. Where in the world can you see beautiful water views, admire collectibles and walk to a pub via a freshly used cow path? Well, as it turns out, in quite a few places.

The trip planner, a trusty book on bed and breakfast inns around the British Isles, led us to the West Usk Lighthouse situated on the Bristol Channel, near Newport, Gwent, Wales. Designed by Scottish architect James Walker and built in 1821, the lighthouse features a central stone spiral staircase above a former collecting well, now a wishing well. We all had beautiful wedge-shaped rooms with water views. At one time, the lighthouse sat on an island where the Severn and the Usk run to the sea, but since then land has been reclaimed and now the lighthouse sits by the Channel instead.