Rows of identical brick houses with small gardens, laid out in straight lines or gentle curves, each with its own vegetable plot and outhouse: the cité at Auchy-les-Mines is a textbook example of the miners' housing built by mining companies in northern France. The companies provided homes, schools, churches and shops, both to attract workers and to control them, and the cités, with their distinctive layouts and architecture, are a central part of the World Heritage listing of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin.
Auchy-les-Mines and neighbouring Haisnes lie near La Bassée, on the canal linking the Deûle to Béthune. This area was in the front lines of the First World War: the Battle of Loos in 1915, in which British troops used poison gas for the first time, was fought just to the south, and memorials and cemeteries dot the landscape. Loos-en-Gohelle, a few kilometres away, is home to the twin heaps of the 11/19 pit, among the tallest in Europe, which you can climb for a view over the whole basin.
The riding in this area is flat and urban, with towns merging into one another, busy roads and cobbles in places. It is not a place for curves, but for history and atmosphere. The brick of the houses and the black of the heaps give the landscape a unique character, and in the evening light the colours are warm and rich.
Look closely at the houses and you can read the social order of the old company towns. Engineers and foremen had larger detached houses, often set apart, while miners lived in terraces or in semi-detached pairs with identical doors and chimneys. Many cités had a company school and church at their centre, and gardens were not decoration but part of the household economy, with leeks, potatoes and rabbits feeding big families. Pigeon racing, brass bands and the local football club filled Sundays.
La Bassée, two kilometres away, has fuel and services, and Béthune, Lens and Lille are all within easy reach. The local food is hearty, with dishes such as potjevleesch, a cold terrine of mixed meats in jelly, and maroilles, a pungent cheese, and the beer is excellent. The cités are lived in, so respect the privacy of residents when visiting.