Wingles is a town of nine thousand people in the old mining basin, sitting on the edge of the plain where the Lens-Béthune coal fields meet the canal of La Bassée. The coal here was dug from the mid-nineteenth century, and the town still bears the marks: rows of workers' houses, a handful of pit headframes, and slag heaps that rise from the farmland. The sports complex that gives this stop its name is a modern echo of the old social life of the mine, when companies built stadiums, bandstands and gymnasia for their workers, and brass bands and football clubs were as central to the community as the pit itself.
The area belongs to the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin, listed by UNESCO in 2012. The listing covers more than a hundred separate elements, from pit heads to miners' villages and even railway lines, and it is unusual for including the living towns and not just the monuments. The result is a landscape in which history is lived rather than displayed. A short ride away at Douvrin stands one of the big engine factories of the French motor industry, a reminder that the region has moved from coal to cars.
North of here, the town of Béthune has a belfry, a tall brick and stone tower on the Grand'Place that is part of the UNESCO list of Belfries of Belgium and France. These towers, which stood for the freedom of the medieval towns, are a distinctive sight in this part of Europe, and Béthune's, with its carillon, is one of the finest. The town square is lined with Flemish-style gabled houses, rebuilt after the war, and is an excellent place for a coffee.
The roads are flat and the country is open. Straight lanes run between beet fields and rows of poplars, and a canal path is popular with cyclists. A rider may find the landscape plain, but on a clear day the skyline of pit heads and slag heaps has a sort of beauty. Wingles has fuel and shops, and Vendin-le-Vieil and Douvrin do as well. Spring is the best time to visit, and wind is a constant companion.