Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

at the southwestern end of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It belongs to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in the

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.department. It is the only place in Brittany, save for Brittany itself, with a separate name in English.

Geography

Neighbouring islets include Keller Island () and Kadoran () to the north. The channel between Ushant and Keller is called the . Ushant marks the southern limit of the

Celtic Sea The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by St George's Channel, Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as wel ...

and the southern end to the western

, the northern end being the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

, southwest of

Land's End Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. According to definitions of the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

the island lies outside the English Channel and is in the

. The island is a rocky landmass at most , covering .

History

Ushant is famous for its maritime past, both as a fishing community and as a key landmark in the Channel approaches. It is named in the refrain of the

sea shanty A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ...

" Spanish Ladies": Several naval battles have been fought near Ushant between the British and French navies. On 23 July 1815 the captive Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

– aboard towards his final exile – spent several hours on deck watching Ushant, the last part of France he would see. During World War II, a force of

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...

and US Army Rangers of the 29th Provisional Rangers successfully attacked a German

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

installation on the island. In March 1978, the oil tanker ''

Amoco Cadiz ''Amoco Cadiz'' was an oil tanker owned by Amoco, Amoco Transport Corp and transporting crude oil for Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Oil. Operating under the Liberian flag, she ran aground on 16 March 1978 on Portsall, Portsall Rocks, from the coast ...

'' ran aground at Portsall about from the island, leading to major pollution of the

coast. According to a repetitive old Breton proverb, ("Who sees Molène sees his pains (or penalty) / who sees Ushant sees his blood / who sees Sein sees his end / who sees Groix sees his cross"). This proverb underlines local points, which are often deadly to navigate with many rocks, and tidal streams of more than ten

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

. A standard start and finish line for traditional all-oceans

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

s is between Ushant and Lizard Point. There is a single school on the island, attended by the majority of the island's youth: L'École D'Ouessant, south-east of the main town. It was founded in 1865 by Scottish refugees fleeing English persecution. It is the only large workplace on the island, and a major employer.

Population

The sole village on the island is Lambaol (Lampaul), which has the mayoral office, school and post office. People also live in the outlying hamlets of Feuteun Vélen, Frugullou, Pen ar Lan, and Porsguen.

Climate

Ushant's climate is oceanic (''Cfb'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: temperate, fully humid, temperate summer, with generally cool, rainy winters and temperate, drier summers.

Sights

The Creac'h lighthouse () is reputedly the most powerful in Europe. is the French system name for Plymouth in the British system of the

Shipping Forecast The ''Shipping Forecast'' is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The for ...

Cultural ties to Scotland

In 2007, Ushant hosted a Scottish book festival and subsequently created their own

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans; and in August 2010, the islanders were reported to be seeking to establish cultural links with a Scottish island. Rob Gibson,

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

for the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

welcomed the suggestion.

Transport

Ushant is connected to the French mainland by air and sea. Passenger ferries of the Penn Ar Bed company operate from Brest and Le Conquet year-round, and also from Camaret in summer, stopping at the island of

Molène Molène or Molene (; , "Bald Island") is an islands of France, island in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic off the west coast of Brittany in northwestern France. It is the largest of Molène or Molene Archipelago (), a group of about 20 islands in the ...

en route. The airline Finistair operates flights on

Cessna 208 The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

planes from Brest Bretagne Airport.

Fauna

Ouessant sheep form a rare breed, originating here. These are northern European short-tailed sheep, ubiquitous in northern Europe up to

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

, but which now survives only in a few places. Apart from Ushant, these are in remote islands and mountains of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and some places around the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It is one of the smallest breeds of

domestic sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to ...

. It is usually black or dark brown (a few are white), and it is now kept elsewhere in the world as a heritage breed. The isolation of the island has helped the conservation of the European dark bee ('' Apis mellifera mellifera''), unaffected by pollution, pesticides and Varroa parasites. In the rest of France, it has been substituted by '' Apis mellifera ligustica''. As a side effect, populations of the bee louse, '' Braula coeca'', that has elsewhere perished through pesticides can still be found among the island's bee population. The association is attempting to conserve and increase the numbers of the European dark bee, intending to reintroduce it in Western France. Ushant and the Molène archipelago support Europe's southernmost colony of grey seals. They are mostly at Point Cadoran, on Ushant's north coast, where the strong currents keep the water temperature below 15 degrees Celsius (59 °F), the warmest that the seals can tolerate.

Media and art references

* The island figures in (''The Blood of the Siren'', 1901) by Anatole Le Braz. * It is mentioned in the chorus of the sea shanty '' Spanish Ladies'' ("From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues"). *

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

mentions it in his poem ''Anchor Song''. * Charles Tournemire's Symphony No. 2, completed in 1909, was inspired by and named for the island. * The 1910 novel by German author Bernhard Kellermann takes place on the island. Features such as Phare du Creach and Port du Stiff are highly defined. The main character stays at the la Villa des tempêtes, in ruins today. * The secret of the seas (), is a 1923 novel by André Savignon set on Ushant. * "Lord Ushant" is the title given the heir to the Duchy of Tintagel (Cornwall) in Edith Wharton's ''The Buccaneers'' (1938). * Ushant is mentioned in

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's diaries, in passing. * A ship from Ushant is mentioned in the WWII Brest destruction commemorative ode ''Barbara'' by French poet

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the Poetic realism, poetic ...

. * ''Ushant'' is the autobiography of the American poet and novelist Conrad Aiken, published in 1952. * Ushant is one of the many French islands referenced in

Laurent Voulzy Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer, and musician. Life and career Voulzy was born in Paris, France. He originally led the English-pop-influenced Le Temple de Vénu ...

's '' Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante'', a major hit in France since its release in 1986. * Ushant appears over and over in works of Patrick O'Brian as to the whereabouts and course of ships in his book series. * Ushant occasionally appears as a landfall in C. S. Forester's novels about

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and ...

. * Mystery book ''Act of Mercy'' by Peter Tremayne is set in 666 AD Ushant and elsewhere. * Ushant is the setting of the 2004 French film (English title: ''The Light'') directed by

Philippe Lioret Philippe Lioret (born 10 October 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. Th ...

. * Father Truitard, a character in Bruce Chatwin's ''The Viceroy of Ouidah'', spent "years communing with the waves and petrels on the island of Ushant". * Composer

Yann Tiersen Yann Pierre Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical ...

made the album ''Eusa'' in 2016 after moving to Ushant. Each track is named after a location on the island. He also recorded his third album " Le Phare" in a rented house on Ushant. * A trip to the island forms an important plot point in

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the Post-war, p ...

's 1996 film ''

A Summer's Tale ''A Summer's Tale'' () is a 1996 French Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his ''Contes des quatre saisons'' (''Tales of the Four Seasons'') series, which also includes ''A Tale o ...

''. * Ushant was featured in some of the scenes of the 1929 film '' Finis Terræ''.

Book awards

The island awards annual literary prizes to worldwide writers.

References

External links

*
Ushant communal council website
*
Cultural Heritage

* ttp://www.jsward.com/shanty/SpanishLadies/shay.html Traditional, "Spanish Ladies", credited to ''Iron Men & Wooden Ships'', by Frank Shay
Ile d'Ouessant - Photo gallery

Storm Island
– article about the island by William Langewiesche in the December 2001 issue of ''The Atlantic'' * {{Authority control Communes of Finistère Islands of Brittany Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean