Came for three nights, stayed for 11. Adventures around Névez in Cornouaille. Days 7-14 Part 3 – More art – a day in Pont Aven

With the sun still shining and with a desire for more than another day at the beach, we decided to drive up the River Aven to visit the town on a market day, Tuesday, and have a look at the art museum as well, having been deprived of a visit to the Gauguin museum in La Pouldu, whilst it was being renovated. With international interest in the late 1860s in the landscape and traditions of Brittany, sufficient to draw a mixed bag of mainly Americans, English and some French to Pont Aven, by the 1880s Gauguin was one of 40-50 artists in residence who established the town as a haven for artists seeking new ways of ‘seeing’ the world.

We could see on the local map that there was parking at an Aire just outside the town, and as we eased our way through the busy traffic and throngs of visitors, we were grateful that the municipality had made the effort to make it so easy to visit. The Aire was essentially a large car park and whilst it had no facilities, neither did it have any restrictions if you fancied staying overnight.

As usual, Evie seemed to be dwarfed by the other nearby campervans…

...but whatever their size, it always feels better to be leaving her in the company of other vans and their owners when we are out for a day trip!

The walk into town was short, the streets were busy with other tourists and we were glad of the Aire and the sense of being away from that madding crowd. There are many picturesque views along the riverside…

...and there was a steady throng of people heading to and from the market. We are suckers for French markets, and although many have much the same tat in parts, there is usually an interesting stall here and there that takes our fancy.

With lunch time in full swing and many of the restaurants already packed, we clocked one we fancied coming back to after we had wandered around the market. Unluckily for us, the market, whilst covering a fair distance, didn’t have much of interest, apart from a couple of ‘artisan’ galette vans, but as we fancied one of the restaurants or cafes, we headed back up the river to get a table with a view. But we weren’t the only people to have fancied this particular lunch stop, and having been told that there was a wait of at least 45 minutes, we decided to head back to sample a galette. 

Suffice to say that this wasn’t one of our better culinary choices and with the galettes tasting pretty bland, and Mr B’s bottle of artisan beer heading down the drain after a slight mis-step with his opening technique, we chalked it down to experience...

Still, having refuelled, we were happy to head off to the art museum. On arrival we were pleased to see that there was also an exhibition of art around the subject of sorcery (a top topic for Mrs B) which was so absorbing that we ended up spending most of our time there, with only a cursory visit to the section devoted to Gaugin and co. at the end.

We also had time to view one of Pont Aven’s famous biscuiteries, (we are currently enjoying their Breton palet as our afternoon tea treat!) complete with very old public convenience (conveniently sited over the river)…

...as well as a town version of the thatched cottages we had seen on our bike ride…

...before wandering our way back to Evie via the Bois d’Amour, one of the haunts of the Gaugin crowd…

The Bois is apparently famous for being the location of where Gaugin gave fellow artist Paul Sérusier a ‘live lesson’ in ‘feeling rather than seeing’ the landscape, as well as using the scenery himself for inspiration…

...and if Mrs B had easy access to art materials, she too would have drawn inspiration from the colourful and tranquil surroundings…

Luckily for Mr B, there were information boards a-plenty regarding the various wildlife to be seen along the river, including some beautiful vibrant blue damsel flies, that would remain still until just the point he tried to take a photo!

By the time we returned to Evie the Aire had become much busier, with a number of campers clearly in for the night and tables and chairs discretely tucked in alongside their vans. For us, we were glad to be returning to our pitch at Raguénez, with the comfort of a large grassy area to lounge about on and no traffic noise!

It’s interesting to reflect on just how much we have become fans of campsites, given that in our early travelling years we didn’t use them at all! Surely this can’t have anything to do with getting older!?

S&J 28.06.25

Came for three nights, stayed for 11. Adventures around Névez in Cornouaille. Days 7-14 Part 2 – A tale of two bike rides – Port de Trévignon and Port Manec’h

Lazing about on the beach can be a very easy routine to fall into, but after a while we both start to crave a bit of exploring… which is what led us to contemplate a ride out from the site on our trusty folding bikes, Freddy and Fanny. They are very easy to get out of Evie’s garage, but they only tend to get considered if we are in one place for a while... which we have been...

So after a quick perusal of the local tourist map we could see that we might be able to have a gentle ride west or east, with two ports as a destination for a possible lunch, or just for fun. With the weather in the toasty mid 20s we reckoned we’d be grateful for making our own breeze if the wind didn’t oblige.

We opted to try for Port de Trévignon first in the west, as it looked like we might be able to take the GR34 in the other, easterly direction, instead of a ride. The coastal road more or less hugs the shoreline for most of the route west, so it would give us a chance to look out for potential camper stop-overs for subsequent visits, as well as scope out the neighbouring beaches…

...of which there were a good number, like this one just along from Dourveil…

as well as one right opposite a free Aire further west again – literally the other side of the road!

With room for about a dozen vans…

and this fabulous beach right on your doorstep (plage de Kersidan)…

...you are allowed to stay for two nights, free of charge. Toilets are at one end of the Aire, shops and restaurants a short ride away! This lovely spot is a great reminder of just how campervan friendly France can be. If only in the UK…

Not much further along the coast we could see the Point de Trévignon and its ‘Scottish style’ castle set out on the headland, with the Glénan archipelago on the horizon…

There were several interesting looking restos/creperies in the vicinity of the headland, with fresh fish landed later in the day (chalked up on a handy blackboard on the quayside), but we decided that we’d just as happily head back for a late lunch on the pitch, before heading off to the campsite pool for a swim. Although not large, the port area boasted a lifeboat (active since 1906)…

...as well as perhaps the smallest lighthouse we have seen so far…

By the time we’d got back to the campsite, with a couple of inclines against us, we were more than ready for a lazy lunch, followed by some gentle swimming in the pool…

...with Mr B enjoying the water slides with our fellow travellers Eric and Anna…

The next day brought even hotter weather, so we decided to swerve walking east on the GR34 and head out on the bikes again to look at what sounded like some interesting ‘Belle Époque’ beach huts. Our route would also take us past a small hamlet of thatched cottages, Kerascoët, looking to all intents and purposes just like a village in Dorset in Thomas Hardy’s day. Roman Polanski filmed Tess of the Durbervilles in Normandy and Brittany for that very reason … Well, partly!

Our first stop was to look at the small Chapelle Notre Dame de la Clarté – only open by prior arrangement unfortunately… 

Kerascoët was busy with other cyclists, and although a bit of a tourist honeytrap, it did feel very unusual wandering around what felt like an uprooted English village!

The trail further east started well, with a bit of off-road that had Mrs B racing ahead…

...and we soon reached the esturial beach of Rospico, reached by a lovely long descent that stopped just by a very well placed restaurant tucked into the cliffs with a terrace overlooking the estuary…

The ease of access to Rospico was, however, matched by the difficulty of the onward ascent, which, as well as some dismounting to walk (and inhale oxygen) might have heard one or two expletives uttered with comments about about poor route planning!

With the call of some Belle Époque architecture and a possible lunch girding our loins, however, we pressed on to Port Manec’h, reached by another long descent… 

Which meant of course, an equally long ascent after lunch – eek! Deciding that perhaps we’d postpone eating in order to prevent any post prandial issues, we went off in search of the much vaunted beach huts. 

And although the scenery across the Aven estuary was very fetching, we were just a little underwhelmed with the huts themselves…

Luckily for Mr B, whilst taking advice from Mrs B on future route planning, he discovered his phone could actually plot the route with a height profile (a bit late in the day someone observed) so the journey back whilst long, was nowhere near as steep (phew!).

Reflecting that perhaps two consecutive days of riding might not be such a good idea in future, we returned to the site for another late lunch and very relaxing (and cooling) swim in the pool – even the thought of a 300m walk to the beach seemed like a step too far!

Perhaps our next outing might not involve the bikes – and maybe even time for a bit more art?

S&J 26.06.25

Came for three nights, stayed for 11! Adventures around Névez in Cornouaille Days 7-14 Part 1 – Beaches galore!

Luckily, Mr B’s French was just about enough to clarify that yes, there were places available, and no, we didn’t need to reserve ahead of time – woohoo! 

We fancied Camping Raguénez Plage as it met a number of our ‘beach resort’ criteria: close enough to the beach for Mr B to be able to haul the trolley with our gear down to the beach, which should be swimmable; plenty of walking, ideally from the site; opportunities for cycle rides; good enough shopping within cycling distance; plus interesting places to eat out. 

And this site delivered in spades (as you may have gathered from the title!) Just a 15 minute mainly level cycle ride from the small town of Névez, it also delivered on a bonus of being a short drive from the art haven of Pont Aven (more to follow!). Not unlike our times in the past in the southern French town of Sérignan, we swiftly became very enamoured of the beach, which whilst not only beautiful, was usually very quiet, with easy, if bracing to start off with, swimming! It took us a while to acclimatise to the difference between plunging into the Bay of Biscay on a hot day – and the Med!

So before we knew it, we had relaxed into full-on Babley beach mode, whiling away the days reading, swimming and walking along the good old GR34 which ran along the back of the beach. The other end of Raguénez Plage is called Tahiti beach, partly with a nod to the artist Gauguin (again) who, apart from painting locally (as mentioned in the last blog entry) emigrated to Tahiti at the age of 42 where he continued his artistic endeavours, inspired by a series of young muses, until his death there twelve years later in 1903, at the age of 54. 

This first photo shows the gentle walk down to the beach from the site…

...where locals could be found fishing…

...the GR34 and the coastline was just waiting to be explored east and west…

...as well as good old fashioned chilling and reading on the beach…

We were also visited again by the French airforce, obviously putting on shows just for us, this time with camera ready…

With the temperature reaching the mid to high 20s, our stay started to feel like we were on the Med with lovely warm evenings (except of course the actual Med was a much hotter lower 30s!) We have both observed that as we have become older, that craving for the baking heat of the south has diminished (although we do miss the smells of the south and the sound of the cicadas!). 

We had a giggle at our initial uncertainty about how long we might stay before we had seen the beach, as represented by the amount of camping gear that gets put out initially…

...compared with the full on Camp Babley by the time we reached midsummer eve…

We have also come to enjoy this slower-paced trip, giving us an opportunity to get to know an area in more detail and discover things as much by chance, as from travel guides and brochures. And it’s lovely to arrive thinking we might stay just for a few nights, and then get to like somewhere enough to stay on longer...

S&J 25.06.25 

The Cornouaille coastline – Civilisation, Art, some unfinished business, an old friend, and a seafood adventure! Days 4 – 6

We had heard about the campsite we were heading for (optimistically assuming there would be spaces), Camping Les Embruns at Pouldu, and the nearby art trail, from our friends Matthew and Jenny who had toured around Breizh earlier in the year in their motorhome. It looked great on the ACSI app with lots to do nearby (including of course, increasing Mr B’s cultural capital) on a very pretty looking part of the coast that was new to us. We also thought it would make a good base to get into nearby Lorient, where Mr B was keen to visit the WW2 submarine pens (having missed the ones at St Nazaire a few years back).

So imagine our surprise and disappointment when we were informed by reception that we could only stay for three nights, as after that, the site was complet – eek! And to add to our woes, our attempt at stocking up at a supermarché en route there had gone slightly awry, after the first two SuperUs we tried were mysteriously closed. Luckily there was a small shop near the site and we figured we’d make do with what provisions we had, or could get at the local store. Whilst Mr B was busy imagining what fate had befallen one of our favourite chains of supermarkets in this part of the world, the penny dropped; it was a Bank Holiday; Pentecost! We often forget how many additional holidays the Europeans have, compared to the UK. Not the first time we’ve been caught out!

Feeling a little silly that we had (yet again) forgotten to check for bank holidays in France at this end of our trip, we set up on our pitch with enough time for a stroll down to the nearby beach.

Just a few hundred metres from the sea, we were quickly entranced by the beautiful views and the striking resemblance to the south west of England. And, like a long lost friend from our autumn trip, the good old GR34 was here to help us with our walking adventures!

After another of Mrs B’s amazing ‘conjured out of thin air’ dinners that she somehow manages to produce even when the cupboard is almost bare, we settled in to enjoy the very five star nature of the site, with its manicured pitches, pools, deluxe sanitaires, and close proximity to beach and coastal walking – perfect!

Our first whole day was of course spent enjoying kicking back on the beach (complete with a very chilly Atlantic swim), with the next day devoted to an exploration of the art trail (Le Chemin des Peintures), and hopefully, lunch.

The area is famous for hosting Paul Gaugin and chums who set up residence in the village of Pouldu where they established a reputation as ‘syncretists’ or early symbolists, with their minimalist approach to detail and interest in the relationship between nature, people and the spiritual world. The trail was a fascinating mixture of stunning scenery and reminders of the work of the artists and the settings of some of their paintings…

Half way around the trail we were super pleased to see that not only was there somewhere to eat at the port that was actually open, but that there was an interesting looking hand written menu du jour…

And without a clue what a timbale was, or what sort of fish a merluchon was, we sat down in the shade to enjoy a well earned rest! The meal was fabulous, with our timbale turning out to be a seafood gratin served in a crab shell, the fish a small whole hake, and the dessert a delicious home made crème caramel. Complete with a glass of cold rosè, we whiled away a lovely couple of hours eating, drinking and watching the small passenger ferry cross back and forth across the estuary, before embarking on the rest of the trail in glorious sunshine.

We could have had even more art delights in Pouldu had the Gaugin museum been open. Closed for a major revamp (which looked very swish) it was not due to reopen until July!

Inspired by so much amazing art and scenery, and with the full moon upon us, we just had to wander down to the sea at midnight, to have a go at an arty photo...

Our stay at Les Embruns wasn’t entirely dominated by art – Mr B managed to misplace his van keys for long enough to cause some consternation (Mrs B found them hanging up with his shower stuff, which he was on his way to when he couldn’t find them)… and we saw more military aircraft than felt comfortable given that, as far as knew, France wasn’t at war with anyone! With enough AWACs aircraft, large cargo planes, multiple helicopters and fighter jets filling the skies (usually late into the evening and always when we were without a camera/phone!) Mr B decided that he would happily eschew the submarine pens at Lorient for the moment, in favour of creeping further westwards along the beautiful coastline in our search for the home of M. Aubéry! 

We found out subsequently that the aerial activity was down to a large NATO exercise taking place in the Finistère region.

And so, in a complete departure from our normal way of travelling, and (based on arrivals at Les Embruns) anxious that we might be up against one or more European regional half terms, with sites filling up in the popular coastal areas, Mr B brushed down his best schoolboy French and called ahead to a site right on the beach south of Nèvez, to see if they had any vacant emplacements for the next leg of our adventure! This Cornouaille coastline is enchanting!

S&J 20.06.25