Skip to main content

home

Menu

Donate
Membership
Tours
About
Fun
Education
Resources
History
News
Shop

Brittany 2018

Return to Photos Page

Brittany Tour Group photo at St. Mathieu.

Our tour began waiting for the first of many ferry rides - this one to Ile d'Yeu

Arriving at Port Joinville on Ile d'Yeu

The Pointe des Corbeaux lighthouse was built in 1950 to replace the earlier tower destroyed during WWII

A stop at the Port de la Meule provided evidence of the extreme tidal ranges along the Brittany Coast

Ile d'Yeu or La Petite Foule lighthouse, our first climb, was another lighthouse destroyed by the Germans at the end of WWII and rebuilt in 1950.

Semaphore of Point Saint Gildas. One of the 19th century Napoleonic semaphores - the world's first telegraph network.

A semaphore telegraph is a system of conveying information by means of visual signals, using towers with pivoting shutters, also known as blades or paddles.

Our first gift shop. We overwhelmed the staff with our purchasing power!

Pornic Lighthouse

Waiting in the shade at the Pornic Lighthouse

Crossing the Loire River on the Saint-Nazaire Bridge.

We saw a very interesting monument to the abolition of slavery in Saint-Nazaire.

Saint-Nazaire is a major ship building center - We passed the almost completed Celebrity Edge

The Tour du Commerce & Phare de Kerlede completed the lighthouses visited on our second full day.

Our second ferry ride took us to Belle Ile and Port Maria

Ladies enjoying the great weather on the way to Belle Ile

The granite tower at Phare de Goulphar on Belle Ile was designed by Augustine Fresnel

Lots of steps, almost 250, provided our first challenging climb at Phare de Goulphar

The Needles of Port Coton make for an interesting interpretation of rock shapes - See Louis XIV?

We had a great lunch break in Port de Sauzon at low tide.

You can't see it from this angle, but the roof of the Pointe des Poulains lighthouse on Belle Ile is covered with solar panels.

Returning to the mainland, we stopped by the Phare de Kerbel and Phare de Poulfanc before heading to Lorient.

No one on the tour will forget where they were the day France won the world cup

World Cup aftermath outside our hotel.

Fire Tower of Sts Peter;s Chapel next to a Navy Signal tower

Day 5 begin at the massive Grand Phare d'Eckmuhl lighthouse with a climb of over 300 steps.

From the top of Phare d'Eckmuhl you see the 1835 tower and the 15th Century Fire Tower of St Peter's Chapel

Mary & Sheila take a break after climbing Phare d'Eckmuhl

Betty & Peggy at the top of Phare d'Eckmulh

Brian climbed to the top of Phare d'Eckmuhl and hugged the top in thanks!

The second lighthouse in Benodet was the Phare de la Pyramide

Point du Coq was one of two lights located in the town of Benodet.

This was an unscheduled stop at a bakery. Not the first, nor the last.

Wanda found ice cream at the bakery.

The hike to Pointe de Combrit (Phare de Sainte-Marine) was just around the corner and a short walk - NOT!

For those who made the long hike, this was at the end - Pointe de Combrit.

This was at the end of a long day!

Another ferry ride took us to Ile de Sein for a yet another hike to the lighthouse.

Interesting rock formations on Ile de Sein. What do you see?

Peggy and her "heavy" heart!

Many of the Brittany lights had their name painted on the tower.

We saw a whole lot of Hydrangeas on this trip.

Bob, Elinor & John resting after walking to the Ile de Sein Lighthouse.

The only other lighthouse on Ile de Sein was the Men-Brial Lighthouse.

It was tough to get close to the Scarweather Lighthouse. A small group took a pretty long walk to try and get closer.

Point du Raz provided a great view of La Plate and La Vieille lights

Our Lady of Drowned Souls statue at Point du Raz

In addition to lots of Hydrangeas we saw quite a bit of Heather.

Crepes were popular fare for lunches along the way.

Street vendors dominated our visit to the medieval town of Locronan.

At this point, our coach (and driver) were very lost. Not the only time this happened!

Dinner entrees in France refers to the course before main course. Many of them were small meals in themselves.

One of the many great deserts - a Paris-Brest

Not enough room on the couch? No problem for Marge.

Another wonderful light station - St Mathieu, its auxiliary light and semaphore.

Mary Lee, Dianne & Leann (and Bosley) at the top of St Mathieu Lighthouse

The Trezien Lighthouse walkway was, or course, lined with Hydrangeas

These two shells were taken from two bombs that fell at the Trezien lighthouse, but failed to explode in WWII

Many signs we saw were in both French and Britton.

The USLHS Society beautiful line dancing gals! You're hired!

This is a group of pathetic Society line dancing guys! You're fired!

This is what a 3 salumi (Italian cold cuts) French pizza looked like.

Another boat ride, this one to the Bay of Morlaix and Ile de Batz. There's David giving directions on what to do.

Two tour children enjoying the ride to Ile de Batz

The Chateau du Taureau (Castle of the Bull) was built as a defense and lookout, then became a prison and then a holiday home and sailing school.

Another great day for a boat ride.

Lots of folks tried the bikes instead of walking to the lighthouse on Ile de Batz. For some bikers, the walk would have been safer.

David relaxing with Betty.

David really relaxing. He worked very hard to keep us in line and on the right road.

Gimme your money or I'll shoot!

Ile Norie (Black Island Lighthouse) Bay of Morlaix

Another tall light to climb (about 200 steps). The down side was it was a "bit of a walk" from the ferry dock.

Phare de I'ile Louet in the Bay of Morlaix

Concrete pier disappearing into the water becomes more useable at low tide.

Last light of this day was the Roscoff Lighthouse, just a short way from the ferry dock in Roscoff.

Day 10 began with photos of two discontinued range lights in Aber Wrac'h

Several folks has a nutritious lunch in Aber Wrach comprised exclusively of ice cream. Derrith managed to consume two banana splits before our ferry ride.

Several folks has a nutritious lunch in Aber Wrach comprised exclusively of ice cream. Derrith managed to consume two banana splits before our ferry ride.

Darlene, Linda, Mary & Betty on the boat to Ile Vierge

Here John gets into and then out of trouble.

The first Ile Vierge lighthouse (102 feet tall) is dwarfed by the 253 foot tower built in 1902.

Everyone who made the attempt to climb the 378 steps to the top - made it!

This numbered step just told you that you still had a ways to go to get to the top.

The small landing area at Ile Vierge and the rapidly changing tides explains why they gave us only 45 minutes for the group to climb the tallest traditional lighthouse in the world/

View of the old Ille Vierge lighthouse from the top of the new one.

Marge arrives at the top of Ile Vierge

Mary and Phil pose on the gallery of Ile Vierge

With the fog gone, we got a good view of the Ile Warc'h Lighthouse with Ile Vierge in the background.

One of our rewards for climbing Ile Vierge was a yummy dinner of pork cheeks!

A nice view of St Mathieu from the ferry to Ouessant

Big day of lighthousing begins with yet another wait for a ferry - this one to the Ouessant

First two lights we passed on our way to Ouessant - Petit Minou & Pointe du Portzic

The highlight of the museum of lighthouses and beacons was the original lens from the Cordouan Lighthouse.

Ouessant has some very interesting rock formations.

Lunch on Ouessant introduced some of us to a Breton Salad.

The light of Phare du Creac’h is made up of four lamps which provide a luminous power of 20 million candelas and extends to an average range of over 60 km.

Very interesting style of lighthouse at Le Stiff, side by side towers.

Nividic Lighthouse with German cable towers built to bring electricity to the lighthouse but never completed

Kermorvan lighthouse, just one of 13 lighthouses viewed on Day 11.

La Jument was calm - nothing like the famous photo by Jean Guichard.

All in all, the day on Ouessant was one of the very best days of the tour.

The last lighthouse in France we would climb was at Cap Frehel

The original 17th century lighthouse at Cap Frehel

Cap Frehel - One of the very few lighthouses in the world with an elevator

Leaving St Malo provided a great view of its range lights - La Balue Rear and Les Bas-Sablons front

Colorful Rochebonne Lighthouse near St Malo

The walled city of St Malo had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures.

The only place to sit and wait out the ferry delay to Jersey was on the floor.

After several hours of delay, we finally arrived in Jersey!

Here's something you don't see every day - 142 brands of gin displayed at the Savoy hotel on Jersey.

The Corbiere Lighthouse definitely made the trip to Jersey worthwhile.

When the tide goes out, Corbiere sits on an island.

Lots of remains from the German occupation of Jersey remind us of the role the Channel Island played in WWII.

This Noirmont Tower was part of the original three tower building scheme during the Napoleonic Wars.

Every morning we had a "full American breakfast." For Stan this meant finishing with a piece of cake!

He ain't heavy, he's Bill!

Another great dessert - Berry and Mandarin Pavlova

Another great view of the Corbiere Lighthouse - this one from the ferry on the way to Guernsey

Guernsey statue commemorating its liberation from the Germans in WWII.

Happy Hour at the Duke of Richmond hotel

A great place to find lunch was the Central Market in St Helier, Jersey

A scene repeated many times - Mary Lee counting heads.

The Maritime Museum on Jersey had something for everyone, including Stan & Skip

Waiting for ANOTHER ferry - this one to Guernsey.

Wanda comes in from the wind!

White Rock Pier light at the entrance to St Peter Port, Guernsey

Bob, Leann and Marge on another short walk, this one to the Sark lighthouse

Climbing down to the Sark lighthouse

Queen Elizabeth was moored near Guernsey. Note it is registered in Hamilton (Bermuda). This allows them to host weddings on board.

Sark Lighthouse a "rock" lighthouse, but one where the keeper could walk to a pub when off duty!

The island of Sark transportation is only by horse or tractor!

Group 1 to Hanois Lighthouse

Group 2 to Hanois Lighthouse

Last group at Hanois Lighthouse

Hanois Lighthouse. A great way for the tour to end.

Waiting for one last ferry - this one back to France.

This toilet in Rennes gave a whole new meaning to "unisex."

Saturday marking in Rennes.

Interesting historic half timer houses in Rennes.

Tour of Rennes included the Parlement of Brittany.

Another sight in Rennes was the city hall.

It has been a great ride. Wouldn't trade the last 7 years as tour guides for anything. Thanks for all of the memories! Skip, Mary Lee & Bosley.

Search form

Search

Contact | Site Map | Privacy Policy

© 2022 United States Lighthouse Society / non-profit 501c3. Website by Illusio Design and WC.