Barfleur's place in history is marked by a shipwreck. Here, on 25 November 1120, a local shipowner offered Henry I of England the use of his ship, the Blanche Nef (White Ship). Henry explained that he already had a ship, but that the Blanche Nef could carry the younger members of the court. These included 140 high nobles, 18 high-born ladies and Henry's heir, Prince William, along with 150 other people. Youthful high spirits prompted a race to castch up with the King's ship, and the crew, already wll primed with wine, decided to row through the rocky passage where the Gatteville lighthouse now stands. They hit a submerged rock and sank like a stone. The sahip's butcher alone survived to tell the tale. The lack of an heir to the throne of England caused years of civil war.

Val de Saire seen from La Pernelle

Le Rivage

Phare de Gatteville

Batterie de Crisbec

Ile de Tatihou

Nacqueville