Coal made this corner of northern France, and coal left it with a landscape unlike anywhere else in the country: slag heaps rising like black pyramids from the fields, pithead frames standing over old shafts and long rows of brick miners' houses lining the streets of every town. The Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin was listed by UNESCO in 2012, and the Cités du Champ Fleuri et du Garage, near Masny and Lewarde, are among its typical housing estates, built by mining companies to house workers and their families close to the pits.
The cités are rows of brick houses with small gardens, often arranged around churches, schools and community buildings, and each company had its own style. Walking through them gives a sense of the paternalistic world of the mining companies, which provided housing, schools and healthcare in exchange for loyalty and hard work. Just next door at Lewarde, the Centre Historique Minier occupies a former pit and is the largest mining museum in France, with guided tours, some led by former miners.
The riding here is flat, with straight roads crossing farmland, mining towns and villages. It is not a land of curves, but it has its own character. Not far away, the cobbled sectors of the Paris-Roubaix cycling race, including the famous Trouée d'Arenberg in the forest near Wallers, are an experience on two wheels of any kind, though they are rough, slippery when wet and demand respect. Traffic can be heavy near towns, and the weather is often grey and windy.
Aniche, about five kilometres away, and Douai a little further, have fuel, shops and restaurants. Masny and Lewarde have small bakeries and bars. Local food is hearty and warming: carbonnade flamande, beef stewed in beer, potjevleesch, a cold terrine of mixed meats in jelly, and chips cooked in beef fat. The region's beers are excellent.
The landscape has a stark, haunting beauty, especially in the low light of autumn and winter, when the slag heaps stand out against the sky. Many have been reclaimed by nature, with trees, wild flowers and birds, and some can be climbed for views over the basin. Ride through the cités slowly, look at the gardens and the brick, and think of the generations who went down the pits from these houses.