BITTER END

Île Vierge Lighthouse

BY BRIDGET DOERNER

► First lit in 1902, the granite Île Vierge Lighthouse is located in Finistère off the northwest coast of Brittany in the English Channel. At 271 feet tall, this is the tallest lighthouse in France, the tallest stone lighthouse in Europe and the tallest traditional lighthouse in the world.

The day we went to visit this light was foggy and cool We had to walk down a wet pier slippery with green algae. We caught a boat to the lighthouse in small groups. Inside the light, 360 steps of stone and 32 iron stairs lead to the lamp platform. Paneled with opaline glass tiles, the spiral staircase is so polished that dust won’t cling to it.

Near the Île Vierge Lighthouse is an older, smaller 108-foot-tall lighthouse that was built in 1845. It had a white light visible for 14 nautical miles and remained in use until the second lighthouse was built. Even though the taller Île Vierge Lighthouse is automated, it’s still manned, and the keeper stays in the older lighthouse. ■

+ A VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE SKOKIE VALLEY SAIL & POWER SQUADRON/20 RUNNING LIGHTS NEWSLETTER.