when examining the contents of this captivating museum, round the back of the Créac'h tower. It probably has the best collection of Fresnel optics in Europe, certainly in France, and perhaps even in the world. I should have annotated all the pictures I was able to take with the lighthouses these optics came from. There were pre-fresnel optics too, reflectors etc., wonderful models and hands-on demonstrations of how feux work together to guide vessels around the coasts.
Some of these first-order glass constructions are very large, two metres or more in height, yet I think you could turn one of the big ones, weighing several tonnes, in its bath of mercury with your little finger. I assume these exhibits were withdrawn and saved as more efficient and smaller optics became available. The museum displays a fine progression of lightbulbs, from some the size of footballs right down to golf ball sized jobs. Pressure oil systems too, in particular the mantle and optic from Ar-Men.
A fantastic lighthouse history source then. And we had it to ourselves. The shop did not stock any Jean Benoît Héron cards or posters (their mistake) and honestly, I did not notice at the time, that photography was not permitted…
Nearby is the hydrobell test site, incongruously built on a granite outlier, the Roche-à-Pic connected by a concrete bridge and footpath back to dry land. A snap I took is presented to interested parties at the conclusion of this post. This 1912 experiment sent out underwater bell signals to vessels equipped with hydrophone receivers as a fog warning system. A weird structure that was left in place when the experiment was ended in 1919. The bridge still gives good access into the granite stacks hereabouts: we employed it several times to marvel at the fantastic perched rocks and formations around the Pointe de Créac'h.
