West of Béthune, the coalfield starts to run out of flat land. The first chalk hills of Artois rise around Auchel and Cauchy-à-la-Tour, and the pit villages climb their slopes in neat rows of brick. The Cité de Rimbert is one of these, built by the mining company of Marles to house its workers, and it belongs to the long necklace of sites in the UNESCO-listed mining basin. Its houses, gardens and straight streets are a textbook example of company planning, with every family given a home, a vegetable plot and a short walk to the pit.
Auchel is a town of about eleven thousand that grew around coal and fell on hard times when the pits closed in the second half of the twentieth century. Neighbouring Bruay-la-Buissière, Marles-les-Mines and Burbure share the same story. But the landscape has softened. Slag heaps have turned green, and at Haillicourt, nearby, one of them has been planted with vines, producing a wine with a cheeky name inspired by the coal. Further west, the hills of Artois become rural, with farms, small valleys and woods of beech and oak.
The riding improves as you head west. Around Auchel, expect urban roads, roundabouts and cobbles in some streets, with traffic in rush hour. But leave the coalfield behind and the roads start to roll over the hills, with gentle bends and views across the farmland toward the coast. Weather here changes fast, with Atlantic showers blowing in and clearing again, and the wind can be strong on the open plateaus. Watch for mud from tractors on the minor roads, especially in autumn when the beet harvest is on.
Auchel has fuel, supermarkets and cafés, and the larger towns of Béthune and Bruay-la-Buissière offer more choice. The food is northern and filling: carbonnade, potjevleesch, tarte au maroilles, waffles and frites. A coffee in a local bar will often come with a little biscuit and an opinion on the weather. Before you leave, take a slow look at the cité, its brick facades and the small details that make each house different despite the uniform plan. Then head west into the hills, where the coalfield fades and the green begins.