ille et vilaine

A YEAR OR TWO AGO Brittany Ferries ran a very occasional out-of-season crossing from Plymouth to St Malo, and we used it. 
It was leisurely and comfortable, arriving quite early into the island speckled approaches to St Malo –even in time to catch Le Grand Jardin still flashing twice every ten seconds as we passed by it. Regrettably the route was discontinued although you can take the St Malo - Portsmouth and return sailings, the normal and regular link.

St Malo has got interesting lights. The town was utterly pulverised in the unpleasantness, and most of Vauban's historic citadel was lost. German troops destroyed all the lighthouses but St Malo has risen again and is now a vibrant fashionable place with a thriving port. The distinctive lighthouses have all been rebuilt. We eventually found them all; they are not immediately obvious excepting of course the rock lighthouse of Le Grand Jardin: you can't miss that!

The Lighthouse Directory reports that the lighthouse was built in 1949 (station established 1868). It has a focal plane of 24 metres (79ft)and displays two red flashes every ten seconds. The tower is 38 metres tall (125ft) with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white [no, unpainted]; lantern and gallery are red, except the lantern dome is unpainted metal [now red overall]. Huelse has a historic postcard view.

This lighthouse marks the beginning of the channel entering the harbour of Saint-Malo. The original phare was blown up by German troops in August 1944. The replacement tower is quite similar to the original, except it has a larger lantern. The lighthouse serves as the front light for two ranges; for the Grande Porte range the rear tower is the Phare de Rochebonne and for the outer Petite Porte range the rear light is the Phare de la Balue. It is situated on a wave-swept rock off the west end of the Île de Cézembre, about seven kilometres northwest of the St.-Malo waterfront.

Rochebonne shows a steady (on all the time) red light and is the back light to Le Grande Jardin while La Balue and Les Bas Sablons both show steady green lights. There are various other lights on posts to aid vessels into this tricky harbour entry. It is interesting to watch the manoeuvre from the top of your incoming early morning ship. All these lights are described and explained on the page for the area in the Lighthouse Directory. The other real lighthouse in the area, Herpin is also. It's just round the corner from St Malo.
……the next post in this blog.

illustrations by the revered Jean Benoît Héron, the snaps by self, and of self by Mrs Melling, used by kind permission.