Fountain de l'Allex, route du Cotterd

First of all, there is the small paper mill road, which is worth walking down in front of the two recently built buildings. A few hundred metres further down, you will notice a "depression" shaped land, as if sunken in relation to the surrounding agricultural area.

This is where the Bex paper mill was located at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, this industrial flagship of the time fell victim to the great fire that broke out in a house in Allex on the night of 13 to 14 November 1910. Eight houses disappeared in the flames, then, by the force of the foehn, the debris reached the paper mill, which was completely destroyed. The "sunken" ground, which can still be seen today, is a reminder that this company had water storage basins for its paper production.

If you go back up to the fountain with its cover, you take a few steps on the route de l'Allex and you discover, on the left, one of the oldest houses in Bex. This old building, set back a little from the road, with a slightly rounded façade, dates from the beginning of the 17th century. It was part of an agricultural estate with a barn, a stable and a wine press.

Next to this old house, another well-known property in Bex is the "Maison Ryter", named after a local personality, the former forestry inspector Hugo Ryter, who died in 2007. His family still lives in this heavily vegetated late 18th century house.

Continuing on the route de l'Allex, you will come to this crossroads which goes right on the route de Cotterd in the direction of a small bridge over the Avançon, and left in the direction of the hill of Chiètres. At this crossroads, we notice a pretty fountain dating from 1892, but given the frequent passage of cars, we do not have much time to linger.