Between Grenay, Mazingarbe and Vermelles, in the heart of the Gohelle, the Cité du n°7 is one of the mining villages built by the Compagnie des mines de Béthune for the workers of its pit number 7. The houses, laid out in tidy rows with gardens, still form a coherent neighbourhood, part of the UNESCO-listed mining basin. Each company built its cités in its own style, and the variety of brick patterns, porches and layouts is surprisingly rich once you start looking.
The most striking landmarks nearby are the twin terrils of Loos-en-Gohelle, at the former 11/19 pit, among the highest spoil heaps in Europe. Their perfect cones rise above the flat plain like a pair of black pyramids, visible for miles around. The site has become a centre for sustainable development and culture, and you can climb one of the terrils for a view over the whole basin.
This land was also the front line of the First World War. The Battle of Loos in 1915 was fought across these fields, and the ridge of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, a few kilometres to the south, was the scene of terrible fighting earlier the same year. On the ridge stands the French national necropolis, with tens of thousands of graves, and the Ring of Remembrance, a vast elliptical memorial inaugurated in 2014, inscribed with the names of almost six hundred thousand soldiers of all nationalities who died in the region, listed alphabetically regardless of side. It is a deeply moving place. Nearby Lens, a former mining capital, is home to the Louvre-Lens, a branch of the Paris museum opened in 2012 on the site of an old pit, with a long glass and aluminium gallery displaying masterpieces across five thousand years.
The riding is mostly urban and suburban, with dense traffic, roundabouts and speed bumps. Small roads up to the ridge of Lorette and through the villages of Artois to the south are more pleasant, with views over the plain and the terrils.
Mazingarbe, Grenay and Vermelles have fuel and shops, and Lens has everything. The local food is simple and generous: frites, potjevleesch, a terrine of several meats in jelly, and beer from local breweries. Visit the necropolis in the evening light, when the ridge is quiet.