Phare du Creach, Stone lighthouse in Ouessant, France.
Phare du Créac'h is a 47-metre masonry lighthouse on the west coast of Ouessant, its cylindrical shaft painted in broad black and white horizontal bands. The tower rises from a low white building with a flat roof and small chimneys, whose entrance sign reads "PHARE DU CREACH" and "PHARES ET BALISES". A gallery railing rings the top beneath the glazed lantern and its domed cap with a spiked finial and weather vane.
The lighthouse was built in 1863 to guide ships through the treacherous waters surrounding the island. It received electrical upgrades in 1888 that significantly improved its signaling capabilities.
The name comes from the Breton krec'h, meaning height or promontory; in Breton the lighthouse is Tour-tan ar C'hreac'h. Its foghorn, installed in 1867, sounds two seconds every ten and is nicknamed the "wild cow" because it resembles a cow lowing; in fog it can be heard across the whole island.
The tower itself cannot be visited; the museum of lighthouses and beacons occupies the former engine room at its base. The site lies at the western end of Ouessant, behind rocky outcrops, and the semaphore nearby is no longer manned. Fog and wind arrive fast on this exposed coast, so carry rain gear.
The lighthouse uses a first-order Fresnel lens to project its light across water, reaching ships roughly 32 nautical miles away. This optical system was revolutionary for its time and remains on display within the tower.
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