These islands are fortresses. Whether built up to consume tiny landforms or constructed on manmade foundations, sea forts are outposts of military might now left stranded in the seas. With accessibility reliant on the tides or boats, some sea forts are abandoned after they become obsolete, others take on second lives as hotels, bird nesting sites, or even game show sets. Here are some strongholds for if you ever want to get away for some impenetrable solitude.
Fort Louvois
Bourcefranc-le-Chapus, France
Fort Louvois at high tide (photograph by Lionel Maraval)
Built: 1691-1694
Purpose: Protect the Château d'Oléron, didn't see any action until WWII
Current Use: Oyster farming museum
Fort Louvois at low tide (photograph by Roromain69/Wikimedia)
Shivering Sands Army Fort
Thames Estuary, England
photograph by Hywel Williams
Built: 1943
Purpose: Anti-aircraft defense
Current Use: After a post-military career in pirate radio and employment as search lights, they were abandoned.
photograph by Hywel Williams
Murud-Janjira
Maharashtra, India
photograph by Sagar Jadhav
Built: 15th Century
Purpose: Protection from pirates
Current Use: Abandoned
photograph by Himanshu Sarpotdar
Fort Boyard
Pertuis d'Antioche Straits, France
photograph by Mpkossen/Wikimedia
Built: 1801-1857
Purpose: Protect a navy arsenal
Current Use: French game show set
The fort in the distance from the beach (photograph by Frédérique Voisin-Demery)
Fort Jefferson
Dry Tortugas, Florida, United States
Arriving by boat to Fort Jefferson (photograph by Matt Kieffer)
Built: 1824-never finished
Purpose: Stop pirates
Current Use: National Park
Fort Jefferson moat wall (photograph by Matt Kieffer)
Fort Alexander
Saint Petersburg, Russia
photograph by Serh113/Wikimedia
Built: 1838-1845
Purpose: Fortify the Gulf of Finland
Current Use: After serving as a research center for the plague and rave party site in the 1990s, it is now open to tours
photograph by Florstein/Wikimedia
No Man's Land Fort
Isle of Wight, England
photograph by Colin Babb
Built: 1867-1880
Purpose: Protect Portsmouth
Current Use: Served as a high end private hotel, closed for health reasons, now under new owners who intend to reopen it as a hotel
photograph by Andrew/Flickr user
Nab Tower
Isle of Wight, England
photograph by JOG/Flickr user
Built: WWI
Purpose: Stop submarines
Current Use: Lighthouse, and sailboat race destination
photograph by JOG/Flickr user
Fort Carroll
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
photograph by Jon Dawson
Built: 1848
Purpose: Protect Baltimore
Current Use: Abandoned
photograph by Cristina/Flickr user
Spitbank Fort
Portsmouth, England
photograph by Amanda Retreats
Built: 1861-1878
Purpose: Protect Portsmouth
Current Use: Luxury spa and hotel
via Wikimedia
Fort Brehon
St Peter Port, Guernsey
photograph by Unukorno/Wikimedia
Built: 1854-1856
Purpose: Protection from the British
Current Use: Was an anti-aircraft site in WWII, now is ruins and a Common Tern breeding ground
photograph by Man vyi/Wikimedia
Fort Denison
Sydney Harbour, Australia
photograph by icameronbps/Flickr user
Built: 1841-1857
Purpose: Protection from foreigners after the appearance of American warships
Current Use: Tourist site
photograph by Mike Brand
Trekroner Fort
Copenhagen, Denmark
photograph by Thue C. Leibrandt
Built: 18th Century
Purpose: Protect Copenhagen
Current Use: Tourist site
photograph by denkrahm/Wikimedia
St Helens Fort
Isle of Wight, England
View from shore (photograph by Andrew/Flickr user)
Built: 1867-1880
Purpose: Protect Portsmouth
Current Use: Privately owned, although people walk there during the few hours of low tide in the summer
The St. Helens Fort walk during low tide (photograph by Richard Heaven)
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