Marles-les-Mines is a small town of about six thousand people west of Béthune, in the hilly western fringe of the coalfield, and the headframe known as the Vieux-Deux, the old Number Two, stands among its houses as a stubborn monument. The Compagnie des mines de Marles sank its shafts here in the nineteenth century, and the pit worked until the twentieth. The tall frame has been preserved, and together with the nearby terril and the cités around it, forms part of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin, the World Heritage Site listed in 2012.
This corner of the basin is more undulating than the plain near Lens, with low hills, hedgerows and little valleys, and you feel the Artois uplands nearby. The terrils here have been colonised by nature: birch, buddleia and rare plants have taken root, and in summer butterflies and warblers fill the slopes. Some are open for walking, and the view from the top, across the old pit villages and out to the Béthune plain, is a good lesson in the shape of the coalfield.
The cités of Marles, among them Cité n°10, show the paternal design of the companies, with brick houses in rows, gardens at the back and little squares at the end. Auchel, a larger neighbour of about eleven thousand people, has shops, fuel and cafés, and Lozinghem is a village close by. Béthune itself, a short ride away, has a splendid Grand'Place and a belfry, also on the UNESCO list, and its market is lively.
On a bike, the roads here are a pleasant surprise: gentle climbs, curves through hedgerows, and long views across fields toward the next terril. The surface can be rough in places, and cobbles appear without warning, so keep an eye ahead. Mist and drizzle are common, and the brick takes a deeper colour in the damp. A pause at a bakery for a sweet tart and a coffee is an excellent way to end the day. Spring blossom is lovely, and autumn light is warm and golden.