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Águilas’s lighthouse stands guard at the southern end of the bay, near the town’s pretty fishing port. Painted in black and white stripes, it looks like something out of a storybook. To complete the picture, above it looms the dramatic castle.

A straggling dirt track leads to the lighthouse at the tip of this wild and beautiful headland, gazing out over crashing waves, long fingers of rock, and tiny, hidden bays.

One of the biggest ports in Spain, Cartagena is spread around a huge natural bay. Its sturdy red-brick lighthouse keeps watch over the endless flotillas of container ships.

A few islets are strewn around the entrance to the enormous port at Cartagena; a lighthouse, visible from the cape below Escombreras, gives early warning to ships.

These tiny, rocky islets off Cabo de Palos are topped by another lighthouse – a beautiful sight at dusk.

Almost at the tip of “the sleeve” (La Manga), this enormous lighthouse sits above the biggest marina on the Mar Menor, and looks out over the Mediterranean and a pair of miniature islands.

The family resort of Puerto de Mazarrón is sprawled around a rugged, cove-studded cape. A dusty path wriggles to the top for beautiful sea views from the lighthouse.

The coastline gets wilder as it heads down the Costa Cálida. The lighthouse at the tip of the Punta del Poniente (north of Águilas) keeps watch over sheer cliffs and scores of tiny islands.

Perched over a tiny bay with unusual dark sand, this lighthouse stands at the western end of the beautiful Regional Park of Calblanque. Walking trails splinter off in all directions, and there’s a spectacular hike along the cliffs.