We set off in heavy
rain the next day, bypassing Concarneau then turned off to Nevez and
found a small motorhome parking aire at the Plage de Dourvein. By the
afternoon the sun came out so we enjoyed a pleasant walk along the low
cliffs to Tahiti Beach.
We stopped at Pont Aven to visit the Gaugin museum, although it had
only a few of his paintings and sketches on display, and mostly
paintings by fellow artists of the "Pont Aven School". Returning to the
coast at sandy Guidel Plages, we found a night stop at an aire among the dunes, again with no services.
Taking the main dual carriageway road to avoid the large town of Lorient, we turned off to
Auray and found a small parking area above the attractive river quay of
Saint Goustan, which had some pretty narrow lanes lined with old
timbered houses. Crossing the river by the Pont-Neuf, it was a steep walk up to the busy
centre of Auray. After lunch we drove to the private aire at
Larmor-Baden near Port Blanc, where boat trips around the Golf de Morbihan start. The next morning we found that
most of the trips didn't start until July so, as it was rather wet, we
decided to give it a miss. Instead we drove to Vannes, a larger town,
parking by the marina. There were a few old buildings in the centre, and
ramparts with the famous laverie (wash house) by the river. After
lunch we continued inland to reach Rochefort- en-Terre, another Plus
Beaux village. We found the motorhome parking area (but no services) in
the large carpark just east of the centre and strolled around the picturesque
village which is a popular tourist destination, definitely worth a visit.
Rochefort-en-Terre
After a quiet night we drove to the small town of la Gacilly where
they hold a large annual outdoor exhibition of photography. There
were many photos on display with some
fascinating and evocative themes, including very enlarged untouched
reproductions of early colour photos taken in Russia around 1905. We
were amazed at the quality of such early photographs.
From there it was a short drive to Redon where
we parked by the canal for lunch and walked into the town to look
at the complex of locks where two canals meet. The massive abbey dominates the town centre. A surprising sight was
the selection of builders' gloves drying on the railings of a house being renovated.
Redon abbey
Redon - builders' gloves drying
That night we
stayed at a
free aire in the small village of Piré-s-Seiche, accompanied by noisy
rooks in the tall trees. The next morning we visited the nearby
Château des Pères,
mostly used for events and weddings, with an interesting modern sculpture park in
the
grounds. As is often the case we were the only visitors despite the
free entry!