LIFE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE
A little visit behind the scenes
THE CURRENT LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER: MRS. MUIN
The Kerbel Lighthouse no longer guides sailors through the night as it did for decades, and therefore no longer needs to be guarded. However, if anyone today deserves to be called "Keeper of the Kerbel Lighthouse", it is Mrs Muin! Since the beginning of the adventure, day after day, she prepares the lighthouse for the new guests and welcomes them by making sure that they are well settled. She has been climbing the 126 steps twice a day for the past 12 years and has a whole collection of anecdotes to tell about life at the lighthouse. And even when she is not there, she watches over it from afar, so much so that even its owners, when they come to spend an evening there, do not fail to warn her that if the lighthouse is lit, it is because of their presence.
We are therefore proud to have awarded Mrs Muin the title of best employee of the month more than 150 times in a row ;) Thank you to her!
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2017
Ms MUIN
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2018
Ms MUIN
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2019
Ms MUIN
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2020
Ms MUIN
THE REST OF THE TEAM
The Bergeron family fell under the spell of the Kerbel Lighthouse when it was put up for sale in 2018 and decided to continue the adventure begun by Mr Jegat. Since then, they have taken great care of the lighthouse, in order to guarantee its guests an unforgettable experience.
Annual terrace and pool cleaning with a high pressure cleaner.
Maintenance of green areas
Cleaning the pool in winter.
THE ONE WHO STARTED IT ALL, MR. JÉGAT.
In 2003, when the Kerbel lighthouse had ceased to function since 1989, it was finally put up for auction and it was Mr Jégat who acquired it following a crush, although he did not yet have any definite plans for his new acquisition. He began by renovating the keeper's house at the foot of the lighthouse, and it was only a little later that he embarked on the crazy project, never before realised, of installing a habitable studio at a height of 25 metres. To do this, he first had to cut down the old lantern weighing 6 tons of reinforced concrete, and then set up the 20m2 studio in its place, which he had previously assembled on the ground. Until 2018, he will rent out this exceptional dwelling to lighthouse enthusiasts and lovers of the unusual, before handing it over to the new owners, who enthusiastically salute his audacity and courage! To find out more about the technical challenges faced by Mr Jégat and his teams, visit the "Lighthouse History" page on our website.
Assembling the studio floor
Mr. Jégat
Lantern lowered by 180 ton crane
THE LIGHTHOUSE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL: HONORINE LE GUEN
"This landscape has been familiar to me for 47 years and in all kinds of weather, in storms, in thunderstorms, in fact in all the weather you can see from 30 metres up, and at all hours of the night and day. When there was snow, it was magical to see all of Port-Louis and Gâvres covered in snow. I would sometimes spend an hour on the stairs despite the intense cold just to enjoy the snowy landscape..."
Honorine Le Guen was 23 years old in 1925 when she was posted as keeper of the Kerbel lighthouse, the first woman in France to do this job. The lighthouse was powered by petroleum vapour, so Mrs Le Guen fetched two 8-litre cans of oil each day from the storeroom and took them up 126 steps to fuel the lantern. She continued this daily operation until 1932, when the lighthouse was electrified, but her career as Kerbel lighthouse keeper did not end until 1972.
Report - Honorine Le Guen, first female lighthouse keeper in France - Ina.fr - 1983.