Radar Control Tower

Maritime Traffic Control Centre : main coastguard look-out post for the Ushant ship-lanes.

50 000 ships sail these lanes annually !

It first went into service in 1982, following the shipwrecks of the Olympic Bravery in 1976 and the Amoco Cadiz in 1978.

Its main mission is to watch over maritime traffic in the Ushant shipping lanes, whic are about 14 kms. out to sea. It is 72 meters high (136 meters above sea-level).

The Jument Lighthouse

The Jument Lighthouse lies off the south-west coast of the island.

In 1878, Mr Charles-Eugène Potron - a man of "independant wealth"- escaped near-shipwreck in the area and decided to donate 400 000 francs in gold toward the construction of a new lighthouse, on condition that it be built within 7 years. Such an offshore construction  was the first of its kind in the region and work began in 1904 on the reef known as "The old mare ".

The daring enterprise went ahead despite all the dangers and reinforcement work  was finally completed in 1940. The base of the lighhouse is deeply anchored into the reef by means of four steel cables. It is classed by the keepers as one of the more fearsome lighhouses. The Jument rises 47 meters above the sea, and emits three red flashes every 15 seconds and is also equiped with a powerful foghorn. Its beam carries 19 miles out to sea. The lighthouse was made fully automatic in july 1991 and is now remote-controlled from the Créac'h.

Kéréon Lighthouse

Kéréon Lighthouse stands about three kilometers off the south-east coast of  Ushant, right  in the middle of the Fromveur tide race, an extremely strong tidal current ( up to 16 km per hour).

Built on the Men Tensel reef, its construction was begun in 1907 and was finaly completed  thanks to a donation made by the descendants of Charles-Marie Le Dall de Kéréon (an officer of the French Royal Navy, condemned to death at the age of nineteen, in 1794).

Known as "The Palace" -  hungarian oak panelling covers the walls  and fine marqueterie work was carried out on the wooden floors - Kéréon was the last "Monumental Lighthouse" built at sea. Fuel-run up to 1972, the lighthouse is now electrically-powered by a wind turbine and entirely automatic. It rises 41 meters above the sea and its red and white light emits one long and one short flash every 24 seconds, while its beam carries approximately 17 miles out to sea.

Stiff Lighthouse

The Stiff lighthouse was the first to be built on the island.

Designed by the military architect Vauban, its construction on the highest point of the island was started in 1695 and it  first went into service in 1700.

It is 33 meters high (90 meters above sea-level). It was first run on coal and was converted to fuel in 1889. It was equipped with an optic at the beginning of the 20th century. It is now fully automatic and remote-controlled by the Créac'h. It emits 2 red flashes every 20 seconds and its beam carries 24 miles out to sea. The Stiff is closed to the public.

Créac'h Lighthouse

Le Créac'h - promontory in the breton -  used to be one of the most powerful lighthouses in the world. It lies at the entrance  between the open atlantic and the Channel and  is 55 meters high (75 meters above sea-level).

It is painted in alternating black and white hoops and signals to passing ships the proximitiy of the Channel. It first went  into service in 1863, was electrified in 1888, fitted with a beam-light in 1901 and with xenon lamps in 1971.

Its assembly of four lenses on two different levels is quite unique and it emits 2 white flashes every ten seconds, while its beam carries 80 miles out to sea. The Créac'h watches over one of the most frequented sea routes in the atlantic. It is also equiped with a very powerful sea communications system and has a foghorn that carries 18 kilometers.  The lighthouse is closed to the public.