Pont Aven - 'a nice cheap little hole'

We decided on Pont Aven next because we really like their biscuits and a lot of old artists used to paint here. You know, chasing the rural life unalloyed by Victorian industrialism so that they could paint from memory and imagination. From this a mystical symbolism emerged which lead art dealers to reap huge profits as these pictures found there way into the MOMA, Musée d'Orsay and so on, rather than the school of Pont Aven municipal gallery.

Gauguin and friends did actually paint here and it's a nice town.

However this place immediately reminded Johnny of dear old Hebden Bridge. Above the old water powered mills along the Aven just like those along Hebden Water. And below the ridiculous maisons of style perched on a cliff-side just like Saville Road. Just like Hebden too in the minute gardens at an angle double theta.

We took afternoon tea at the watermilly place, actually astride the Aven. Very nice it was too, but the tea was cider and the pastries, ice creams.

The bridge bellow which is a passerelle was built to a local design and erected in 1911, so after Gauguin's time in Pont Aven. It is made of the new reinforced concrete (beton armée), although one is not supposed to know that because it's finished to look like it's built of local logs. No two section of the ballustrade are quite the same. Note the console brackets for 'barrier baskets' mercifully as yet in the season, unused.

No parking on the esplanade for motorhomes - which of course didn't stop two of them doing just that, but right at the end along with the cars next to a sign stating school buses only.

The gem of Pont Aven is the municipal lavatory now up-dated so that the effluent does not discharge directly into the Aven

We did not find the municipal aire at our first pass because the Tom Tom approved access road is closed by massive building works to refurbish the school of Pont Aven museum of fine art. We look forward to its opening, our return and parking on the official aire.
Tourist information is hard by this square. We were helpfully told how to drive to the aire by an alternate route and that there are at least two other overnight parking places just outside the town centre. So if there's no motorhome parking in centre ville, there is plenty just outside it.

Chris needs more tops.

This is the aire we found on our own ramblings in the motorhome. Driving on the Quimper road out of town I could see motorhomes in the car park of the Intermarché, so I drove in and pitched up. Tourist Info confirmed that this is an official aire. There are no signs at all to that effect, but clearly the word has gotten round in France at least. Pleasant spot, with en suite shopping, 10 minutes walk from centre ville. Two of us actually overnighted.