Gatteville and Barfleur: 349 Steps up France's Second-Tallest Lighthouse and the Granite Port
Normandy, France
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Gatteville Lamplighter
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
Gatteville and Barfleur: 349 Steps up France's Second-Tallest Lighthouse and the Granite Port
300 + 100 XP
At the north-east tip of the Cotentin the lighthouse of Gatteville rises 74.85 m from 11,000 blocks of pink Fermanville granite weighing 7,400 tonnes together — the second tallest in France after the Île Vierge, and the second tallest in Europe. It is said to have as many steps as there are days in the year; it has 349, but it does have one window for every week and one level for every month. Its central stone was laid on 14 June 1829 and it went into service on 1 April 1835, replacing a 25 m tower lit on 1 November 1775 whose keepers hauled Littry coal up on their backs. Running it took six keepers, who had to be married — about forty people lived on the point. Just south, Barfleur, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France and the smallest commune in the Manche at sixty hectares, was one of Normandy's busiest medieval ports and still fishes.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Climb all 349 steps of the Gatteville lighthouse, counting the windows as you pass them to check the one-for-every-week story, and feel the tower narrow from 9.25 m across at the bottom to six at the gallery
2
of 4
Walk out to the end of Barfleur jetty and find the bronze medallion set into the rock in 1966, reading that a Barfleur man, Étienne, carried William to England on the Mora
3
of 4
Walk the coast path from the lighthouse down to Barfleur and, from the point, look north to the water off the Quillebeuf rock where the White Ship went down on 25 November 1120 and took the heir to England with it
4
of 4
From the foot of the lighthouse, find the semaphore tower beside it where nine watchkeepers still work round the clock on the shipping off the point, and count how many vessels you can see from the same spot
Climb all 349 steps of the Gatteville lighthouse, counting the windows as you pass them to check the one-for-every-week story, and feel the tower narrow from 9.25 m across at the bottom to six at the gallery
Walk out to the end of Barfleur jetty and find the bronze medallion set into the rock in 1966, reading that a Barfleur man, Étienne, carried William to England on the Mora
Walk the coast path from the lighthouse down to Barfleur and, from the point, look north to the water off the Quillebeuf rock where the White Ship went down on 25 November 1120 and took the heir to England with it
From the foot of the lighthouse, find the semaphore tower beside it where nine watchkeepers still work round the clock on the shipping off the point, and count how many vessels you can see from the same spot
Before you go
The lighthouse climb is ticketed, has seasonal hours and shuts in high wind, rain or fog — there is no lift and 349 steps in a narrow spiral, not for anyone unsteady or badly afraid of heights. The point is joined to the land by a granite jetty and the raz de Barfleur runs hard past it: stay off the rocks, and keep children away from the edge in any swell. The coast path is exposed the whole way with no shelter.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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