The hill north of The Narrows has been used to defend St Johns from the 1650's til after WWII.

 

First known as the Outlook, in 1762 it was renamed Signal Hill after the British victory over the French at the Battle of Signal Hill.

 

At the end of the 18th century the Queens Battery was installed on a strategic outcrop directly overseeing the harbour and in 1900 the Cabot Tower was inaugurated.

It was here that in 1901 Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal from Cornwall in the UK.

 

Presently SIgnal Hill is a National Historic Site with much of the now obsolete military hardware on full display.

 

Every day at 12 the  Noon Day Gun is fired and in summer you can watch the Signal Hill Tattoo with gunfire and soldiers dressed in historic uniforms.

 

For hikers there are several trails on and around Signal Hill, the North Head Trail is the most spectacular but strenuous.

 

We visited SIgnal Hill on a clear but windy day in September 2017 and enjoyed the noon gun and spectacular panoramas.