Day 27 - Eckmühl Lighthouse

Oh what a night. The tent shook violently all night in the wind and rain. It is a lightweight tent with the very thin, if not flimsy, material something akin to what you would find on a kite.

We have found a design flaw in our tent. The is no zip or other fastening at the bottom of the main front door. So last night as the wind was blowing towards us from the front, it blew straight under the door and filled the tent like a giant balloon. This caused our sleeping pod to shake and rattle at something approaching a hundred decibels, if that’s loud!

We did manage to snatch pockets of sleep and we finally felt safe to emerge from our tent around 8am the sun was out. A quick recce of the tent did not reveal any damage.

After a shower, Jackie knocked up bacon sandwiches and coffee, then we headed out of camp just before 11am.

Our first stop was the Sunday market in Guilvinec. It was busy and we had to park in a car park on the edge of town. The market was huge and we managed to get fleeced at literally the first stall we came to.

Jackie bought herself yet another white waterproof sailing jacket, but with a Breton blue and white lining. Jackie was umming and aahing, but I insisted she buy it at the bargain price of just €39. I told her it could be a birthday present, hoping she will forget about the walking boots she’s hoping for!! Luckily she never reads my blogs, just looks at the pictures!!

We helped ourselves to as many free food samples as we could, then we came across a stall selling wooden games. After much deliberation and research on the rules, we purchased a lovely wooden Chinese Chequers set. It will be perfect to play in windy conditions and I should win, because Jackie thinks we have bought Solitaire!!!

It was a really enjoyable couple of hours wandering amongst the stalls. Jackie was absolutely drooling over the rotisserie chickens and potatoes, but sadly for her, it just wasn’t practical to buy one on this occasion.

Our next stop of the day was Eckmühl Lighthouse, which we had vowed to return to. We parked up and upon approaching the entrance found a queue waiting. Evidently, only so many people are allowed to climb up the lighthouse at any one time.

Rather than queuing, we chose to have a spot of lunch first. We went to the very nice Crêperie du Phare in the shadow of Eckmühl Lighthouse. It was an excellent choice. We had a litre jug of house cidre and ordered a black pudding and apple Crêpe and a goat’s cheese and fig jam Crêpe. They were top notch and much more filling than they looked.

We returned to Eckmühl Lighthouse and paid our €4 entrance fee. A few Wikipedia facts below:-

The Phare d'Eckmühl is an active lighthouse located at the port of Saint-Pierre, on Point Penmarc'h, on the southwestern corner of Finistère.
At a height of 213 feet (65 m) it is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. (I’ve looked it up, it’s the 16th tallest). Reaching the top takes climbing 307 steps, 227 stone steps followed by an iron staircase.

The tower was built following a decision on April 3, 1882 to modernize the coastal lighthouses and raise the focal height of the Penmarc'h lighthouse, built in 1835, to 60m. However, engineers reported that the old tower could not support such an extension, so in 1890 it was decided to build a new lighthouse, the plans of which were completed on April 3, 1882. Funding came unexpectedly on 9 December 1892 when Adélaïde-Louise Davout, Marquise de Blocqueville, left substantial funds for the new tower in her will, provided the lighthouse was dedicated to the memory of her father, a marshal of the First French Empire Louis Nicolas Davout, who was "Prince d'Eckmühl", a title he won after the Battle of Eckmühl. The tower was completed on October 17, 1897.

We ascended the 307 steps and I don’t mind admitting my legs went to jelly and I clung on to the handrail as if my life depended on it. Jackie was in charge of the photography within the impressive circular stairwell.

At the top I was able to relax…ish and enjoy the coastal views as long as I didn’t look down. I was dreading the descent, but it was actually ok as I focused on the outer wall and not the huge drop down the middle.

Back on terra firma, we strolled around the lighthouse, second lighthouse and a number of other buildings. It was very nice, but I sadly heard a couple of northern English voices that ruined the vibe.

Next stop was La Chapelle de Notre Dame La Joie. The church is right on the seashore and has a ceiling like the keel of a ship. It would appear that it was dedicated to the life of fishermen and where they came to pray.

Jackie lit a candle for her mum, although I wasn’t aware that she was much of a fisherman or sailor.

We drove to Pointe de La Torche, which was heaving with surfers, so we decided not to stop. Instead we
drove on up the coast to The Notre-Dame-de-Tronoën, a 15th century pilgrimage chapel in the town of Saint-Jean-Trolimon. It is located in the bay of Audierne, which it dominates at a height of 30 meters.

Outside the chapel is the oldest of the seven great Calvaries of Bretagne. The date of construction is between 1450 and 1470, according to what can be deduced from the characters dressed according to the fashion of the time of the King of France Charles VII. It consists of a rectangular base of 4.50 meters by 3.50 meters, two superimposed friezes separated by a drip edge, surmounted by three crucifixions: Christ and the two thieves.

More than 100 characters are sculpted in a granite stone from the Scaër region and Kersanton (stone from Brest region, similar to granite, and weather-proof).

It can be read from the eastern side and counter clockwise, but the events chronology is not always followed, and side by side, where the scenes are related to each others and remind the divine message.
Certain peculiarities are to be noticed:
- Christ standing up in the Nativity scene
- Double scene for the Baptism of Christ
- Two angels collecting the "Blood of Christ" on the cross
- The Placing into the Tomb is missing

Over time, the sculptures have eroded, resulting from the action of the wind, the , sea-spray and the growing lichen.

Copy and pasted again, but it was impressive and worthy of its own mention.

Next door was a photographic exhibition of seabirds which only I visited. As I was leaving I said ‘au revoir’ to the photographer then virtually knocked myself out as I smashed the top of my head into the very low stone entrance.

We took a scenic dazed route back to camp expecting more bad weather to arrive any minute, We had the odd shower and the odd gust of wind, allowing us to hop in and out of our tent as the weather dictated, but otherwise it was generally a nice evening.

Now on Day 27 of our trip, we finally discovered that we actually have four windows in our tent that provides lots of daylight and a nice outlook.

We had crackers and cheese for tea and played our new Chinese Chequers game. It’s simple, but we were always learning new strategies in our 4 games that we played.

For the record, I won by 3 games to 1 AND I did give Jackie some assistance in her victory. Just saying!

Song of the Day - Lighthouse Keeper by The Bar Stool Preachers.Read more