Travelling with Keycamp, guest writer Margaret Doherty finds that southern Brittany is as pretty as a picture.

Raguenes Beach, southern Brittany

“It’s nearly 10pm on early July evening and the sun is beginning to set on the picturesque coastal town of Trinitie-sur-Mer in southern Brittany. The honey-coloured light glances off the old mariners’ houses and the brightly painted boats that bob in the harbour cast warm reflections in the water. It’s no surprise that this quality of light has long attracted writers and artists to the area with many artistic communities continuing to thrive along this coast.

Art in Pont-Aven

The most famous of these is Pont-Aven, a former mill town on the River Aven where Paul Gauguin arrived in 1886 and visited on and off for a number of years before his departure for Tahiti. Along with Emile Bernard he founded the Pont-Aven School around 1888 which attracted artists that favoured a post-Impressionist Synthetist style - vivid colours, two dimensional surfaces, symbolic subjects. His presence still dominates the town. Madame Gloanec’s boarding house where he lodged (now a newsagents) bears a plaque in his honour. Throughout the town information boards mark the sites of Gauguin’s many paintings of the area enabling you to contrast his painting with what you see today. Even the town’s famous butter biscuits, the Galettes de Pont-Aven, are packaged in artistically-inspired boxes.

The former Madame Gloanec’s Boarding House, Pont-Aven

There are three walks you can do around the town (pick up a leaflet at the tourist office) none of which are long or taxing. If you only have time for one, my favourite is the walk to the Chapelle de Tremalo, a beautiful low-roofed 16th century Breton chapel in a quiet rural spot surrounded by fields and tree-lined paths. Inside you’ll find another inspiration for his work, a wooden 17th century Christ, the model for Gauguin’s Yellow Christ (1889). For a more comprehensive artistic overview of the region, the Musee de Pont-Aven is dedicated to Brittany’s artists from 1860-1940 but it doesn’t have that many examples of Gauguin’s work. It is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and from 9th October 2010 – January 3rd 2011 it has an exhibition celebrating 25 years of acquisitions with work spanning the arrival of the first artists in Pont Aven from 1850 onwards.

Pont-Aven Market

The granite-walled town of  Concarneau has also drawn artists to its enchanting bays. Still France’s leading fishing port, in earlier times it was the ideal spot from which the artists who came every summer could capture the beauty and bustle of the luggers with their blue nets and the tuna boats with their coloured sails. Established on a tiny island in the heart of the bay and linked to the mainland by two small bridges, within the fortified walls the Old Town are some of the oldest buildings. Here, in the former arsenal and barracks, you’ll find the Musee de la Peche. It offers a detailed history of the town’s fishing industry and, though most of the information is in French, from its many exhibits such as a small whaling boat used to hunt sperm whales and atmospheric photos from the early 1900s showing the poor, cramped conditions the fisherman and their families endured, you get a real sense of the fishing community’s back-breaking effort and industry. Don’t miss a visit to the decommissioned trawler Hemerica moored alongside the museum (included in your admission) for a glimpse into the cramped and challenging environment more modern trawlermen experienced. But at least they had fish to catch. In 1905 the large shoals of sardines disappeared throwing the 800 strong fishing fleet into chaos. To address the desperate need around them the ‘Filets Bleus’ charity was founded by a group of local artists and painters to assist those families most in need. Today the old canneries that line the bay are now converted to other uses – one is an arts centre - and there are more pleasure boats in the harbour but fishing remains an important part of the economy.

Concarneau town wall

Back in Trinitie-sur-Mer, following a stroll around the lanes, window-shopping in the galleries and a tasty crepe of apple and caramel at the popular Creperie du Bourg on the Rue des Freres Kemovant, it’s time to head back along the coastal path that leads from the town back to my campsite as the sun sets. The water is still, the beaches are empty and the colours still glorious. Perhaps it’s time to get out my paintbrush.

Top tips for visiting Southern Brittany

If you’re driving, bring plenty of change and smaller notes for the motorway tolls, which can vary from 1 euro to considerably more.

Most towns have plenty of well-signed parking, much of it free of charge, especially if sited on the edge of the town.

Don’t leave without trying the region’s traditional dish. Creperies serve sweet and savoury versions : crepes are made with sweet batter, galettes with salty batter. Both are great, especially when served with a glass of local cider.

For more information on the region visit Brittany Tourism.”

If you’re planning a trip to Brittany,  our Europe travel tips are that you venture into Brittany’s interior, take a boat trip to an island such as Isle de Houat and visit Vannes.