gravelines and walde

BETWEEN DUNKERQUE AND CALAIS are two phares that are extinguished but with very different fates therafter. Whereas Gravelines is preserved, well painted and open to visitors Walde is at the mercy of the sea, and for all I know (as we don't frequent that coastline these days) may have now succumbed to time and tide. Even when we went after a sighting of it, Walde was already a wreck. Only just accessible at very low tides, none of which have coincided with our presences, this frail structure is, or was, France's only 'screwpile' lighthouse. Screwpile? Well, each of the six legs of the structure is in fact a screw which has been literally screwed into the sand and mud. A British invention I think, particularly useful for muddy estuaries and the like.

The structure was constructed in 1859 but it has been out of use since 2001. The original lantern was destroyed in a propane gas explosion in 1953; the replacement lantern was removed in 1986 and is now on display at the port captain's office in Boulogne-sur-Mer. When the solar-powered light was deactivated in 2001 it was proposed to demolish the tower. A preservation group did try to find funding to dismantle the tower for reassembly and display onshore.

Mrs Melling and I visited the derelict hoverport at Calais some years ago (we once arrived there, back in the mists of time) and had a mooch round to take in the dereliction (see snap at the bottom of this piece) and Walde was still there then. It was a rough evening, but bright; I took the snap shown above with the rather limited telephoto I had at the time. I have no further intelligence on the situation now save to say that the area adjacent became the infamous second migrant camp from where refugees tried their luck with the channel crossings, and which resulted in deaths and misery. The whole issue remains, even now, unresolved.

Gravelines is a happier story. A lovely paint job too. Only three French lighthouses sport this style of spiral identification. You wouldn't catch Trinity House stooping to such frivolity on one of their towers! The local guardian even sold JBH postcards of the edifice in that little shop at the bottom, the former keeper's shack. But I didn't collect JBH postcards then. I rue the day.

The tower is a tourist attraction now – with spiffing views topside. I'm not sure but Gravelines might even show a light when the resort of Petit Fort Philippe is in full holiday season swing. Not a proper one, you understand, just something to complete the illusion that this is still a fully functioning phare . . . which sadly, it isn't. Here are the basic facts: The tower is 27metres or 89ft high, built of brick with a lantern and gallery on the top. It was built in 1843 and has been inactive since 1989. It was only  painted in this jolly way in 1949 after its post war restoration. Before that? Unpainted.

The phare is to be found near the foot of the east jetty at the entrance to the Aa River in Petit Fort Philippe, north of Gravelines, and is open quite often in the summer.

The reason I've included these two as a posting is simply because Jean Benoît Héron has invested both time and materials to capture a likeness of them both; I reproduce the somewhat grainy examples of his work that I have, higher up in this posting. You can see what Walde should look like, at least.

More information may be found on the splendid The Lighthouse Directory