A long weekend in Northern France
- michaeldhaydock
- May 30, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 6, 2024
We took advantage of the long Jubilee bank holiday and headed to Northern France to discover what was on offer so close to home. We went in search of good food, good cycling, and good weather. It's safe to say we got all three.
A short 1.5hr train ride from Kings Cross, a micro-cycle, and then an hour on a ferry and you arrive in Calais. It may not sound exciting on the surface, but it still felt a million miles away from Blighty - with its bustling square, historic fortress, and motorcade of lorries heading off for Europe. We were excited to get started.
The route was to take us from the industrial hotbed of Calais, through seaside towns and quintessential French villages. Through the sites of tragic and bloody battles from both the world wars. Before stopping in the historic and lively Lille, then heading north to Dunkirk and the ferry home.
Accommodation: Gite Le Roi des Oiseoux, Montcavrel
Key stats: 101.2km, 1100m
Pave: Mostly paved with short stints of gravel - doable on road or gravel bike
The Thursday morning sunshine greeted us in Calais square. It was quiet, but the town was draped in bunting ready for the world stage and the Tour due to arrive on the 4th July. The first day had us set off west towards Le Touchet on the west coast; before heading inland to farming country and the Gite in Moncavrel. We had a really nice tailwind the whole day and the cycling was even better. Rolling country roads and tracks. Sea views, and very little road traffic. The first 30km was up there with some of the nicest riding I'd done in a long time, and a far cry from the messy roads back home.
After around 40km the alure of the sea and a beer kicked in and we made our first stop at one of the many sunny restaurants overlooking the sea at Wimeruex. It had vibes of Blackpool or Brighton, but on a smaller scale, and it was the perfect suntrap for a quick pitstop. Here we made time to take advantage of the sunshine and had a dip in the Channel (always come prepared) before rolling on with the last part of the ride, feeling a little more exhilarated. If you've a little more time on your hands, there's also the option to stop a little further south on the coast at Boulogne-sur-mer / Outreau, with its water sports scene and expansive beaches - but we rolled on through here with out taking in any of the sights.
Having passed through Boulogne, we rolled south along the coast through towering sand dunes and past the occasion relic from the war. It was beautiful. As the quaint villages passed us by, we reached the coast again at Etaples and devoured a sandwich (made at the breakfast buffet) and read some WW2 history info whilst overlooking the estuary.
The last 30km from Etaples inland to the Gite was a bit of a slog. Not because it wasn't beautiful, but because the hot weather on the full bike bags were taking its toll over the remaining hills. It's a punchy day! Nonetheless it was a lovely finish to the day through rolling countryside, alongside babbling rivers, but we were relieved to reach the little village of Montchavrel. There isn't much there apart from a local shop selling wonderful local produce (including the liquid kind), stocked up and settled in the garden of the Gite Le Roi des Oiseoux, Montcavrel. It was bliss!
The route
Day 2: Montcavrel to Abbeville
Accommodation: Dormity's L'Aigrette Bleue
Key stats: 80.6km, 321m
Pave: Mostly paved with stints of gravel / singletrack - doable on road (with caution) or gravel bike
All of the days' riding were great, but day 2 was up there as my favourite. It seemed to have it all. Some climbing in the lush valleys at the start, then flattening out and following the River Somme past memorials, and finishing up alongside a canalified section of the Somme for the last 15km. It was a scorcher of a day too and we were buoyant after the amazing breakfast provided at the Gite (see the piccies above). As it was a bit shorter and much flatter than Day 1 at 86km, we set off a bit later to enjoy the breakfast and the garden of the Gite.
As a side note, the day's route contains a stint of quite gnarly gravel and a bit of single-track through a field. If you're careful, it's fine on a road bike, as demonstrated by one of the group. If you're lucky, you might also see a little snake too.
At around 8km, we skirted around the pretty village of Montreuil - we missed it unknowingly, but it's definitely worth a stop, even if it's just to cycle through the centre itself. Doh. From here we entered the Somme region and assisted by the tail wind, we glided effortlessly through swathes of farmland, getting ever closer to the sea again.
After looping around a large bird sanctuary (that seemed to go on for an age) and the Somme estuary, we stopped at the sweet seaside town of Saint Vallery Sur-Somme for our first Belgian beer and an ice cream of the trip. We were here for maybe 2 hours, after which we tackled, again quite effortlessly, the last straight as a die 15km alongside the canal of the Somme and into Abbeville - and to collect the last member of the group.
Other than the impressive Notre Dam esque cathedral, Abbeville wouldn't have been the first choice if we were to do it again. Notwithstanding, it served a purpose and the hotel was lovely, so it wasn't all bad. Apart from the endless rain that greeted us on arrival.
The route
Day 3: Abbeville to Arras
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express
Key stats: 86km, 698m
Pave: Mostly paved with stints of gravel / singletrack - doable on road (with caution) or gravel bike
With the quad complete, we marched on towards Arrass. After a horror of a forecast that made us all a bit nervous, the day turned out to be the warmest of them all. We weren't too sad to be leaving Abbeville - even the pastries we got hold of weren't that great, but alas, another day of sun and cycling awaited. It didn't take long to get away from the little traffic that was in the town as the route took us straight on the canal path that we left the day earlier. In fact, the first 30km had us off the road following an old railway track and paths. It had piddled it down all night so some of the way was quite hard going, but we took our time and enjoyed it.
We came off the track after around 30km and headed through the town of Auxi-le-Chateaux where we stopped for a refuel in the sun. there was a little market on a side street, so we took advantage and pocketed some fresh peaches for the road, and saddled up. It was another punchy day compared to the relatively easy second day and the temperature was topping out at around 28oc, but we soldiered on, past French Chateaux's and through quaint gated villages, past fields of livestock and Commonwealth war memorials.
At Le Herliere at around 65km, we pulled in at a no frills cafe / bar and ordered a round of beers ready for the final 20km. The last 20km couldn't have been any better. Tailwind. Check. Downhill gradient. Check. Segregated treelined cycleway. Check. All smiles. Check. It took a little over 45 mins to roll into Arrass from the beer stop, and we did so straight into one of Arrass's impressive squares. It turned out there were at least two of them, all buzzing, and we wound the evening away watching another storm rage from the safety of a bar.
The Route
Day 4: Arras to Lille
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express
Key stats: 70km, 284m
Pave: Mostly paved with stints of canal-side gravel - doable on road
We awoke on the 4th day in a bit of a torrent that had spilled over from the night before. And when I say rain, I mean rain! The streets of Arrass were quiet so it didn't take long to leave it and its lively squares behind. I liked Arrass, and could have stayed for a couple of days, especially on a weekend, with its bars and restaurants - oh and history - but the show must go on. With the rain jackets on we set off towards Lille, and like the day before, the route was a relatively flat one, and picked up the canal path to the east and then to the north east. We deviated slightly off the canal path to start with as it wasn't in great nick, so we stuck to a quiet parallel road for the first part. It also meant we weren't getting sprayed by mud.
We did another slight deviation of the route around 15km, to try and stop by the Canadian memorial on the outskirts of Arrass. We went a bit off road (unintentionally and unwisely) and managed to miss the thing to our disappointment - but we at least managed to pay our respects later on the route. We then also took the decision to re-route via lens to make the route more direct to limit time in the torrent. We stopped here after a bit of time circling to find a cafe that was open - this cafe culture is a myth - to de-soggify with a coffee, and another French lovely, a tarte tatin.
The weather had eased up by the time we left and it was replaced by mottled sunshine. From here the route more-or-less flattened out and we re-joined the canal path along the Pas de Calais Nord, with its steaming waters and myriad of wildlife for a good portion of the way into Lille. It was a bit squidgy at times, and slow going, but being off the roads still hadn't lost its charm. The scenery began to become a bit more industrial as we left the houseboats and canal path, but this gave way to a park on the outside of LIlle that, coincidentally, was one of the top sights in Lille. We soon entered Lille and passed by cathedrals, bars, restaurants, and bustling markets before reaching the base for the night. We were looking forward to a Tripel Karmeleir (or the likes) and passing the night away - we arrived at haooy hour after all.
The Route
Day 5: Lille to Dunkirk
Accommodation: N/A
Key stats: 90km, 339m
Pave: Mostly paved with stints of gravel
It was an abysmally windy day, but despite this, it was another relatively flat and scenic day. There are more direct routes to get to Dunkirk, and there's also the option to take the train part way (a section of the group chose this option) but we opted for this route to take in some of the famous concrete roads of Belgium and the like of the Tour of Flanders. If you're really not up against it, there's scope to add in some classic cobbles and climbs as well, but I'll leave that to you.
Cycling against the clock isn't quite as fun, more so when you're on the way home. We were booked on the 4pm ferry, meaning we had to be in Dunkirk by 3-ish, so we were a bit up against it; but it was fine. Admittedly the legs were tired and there was a stonging headwind - but it was enjoyable all the same.
Much like the other days, the route took us through small villages on barely-used roads and cycle paths. It was green and lush and the smell of manure was in the air - later replaced by the smell of pastries and other goodies as we ventured through Ypres at around 35km. We stopped here for a cheese board and a coffee and it allowed us some time to rechage and reflect on the trip before carrying on to the final destination.
As we ventured further north out of Ypres, the landscape became slightly more hilly and the sun finally came out. We were also passed by swathes of pro-cyclists - non that I recognised - which is always a good sign to the quality of the cycling in the area. And it was quality. Enough to do it all again.
The route into Dunkirk really isn't much to write home about - although the quality of cycling infra still remained pretty high. By this point we were all pretty beat and the headwind was really taking its toll. We just wanted to get on the boat and get dry. It was a rather forlorn end to what was a wonderful time in France. But all good things must come to an end as they say.
The Route
Fin.
