Rising out of the flat fields north of Douai, the black, cone-shaped hill of Terril 140 is not a natural feature at all: it is a heap of mining waste, the spoil left over from decades of coal extraction. The mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, listed by UNESCO in 2012 as a cultural landscape, is studded with hundreds of these terrils, some flat-topped, some pointed, and together with the pitheads, workers' housing and railways they tell the story of an industry that shaped the region for nearly three centuries.
Coal was found here in the eighteenth century, and by the late nineteenth century the basin was one of the great industrial centres of Europe, drawing workers from across France, Belgium, Poland, Italy and North Africa. Émile Zola set his novel Germinal in this world of mines and miners, describing the hardship and danger of life underground. The last mine in the region closed in 1990, and since then many terrils have been reclaimed by nature, with birch trees, wild orchids and rare insects colonising the black slopes, while some have become viewpoints, ski slopes or nature reserves.
Riding around the mining basin is mostly flat, with straight roads, roundabouts and towns that run into one another, punctuated by canals, terrils and old pitheads. Traffic can be heavy around Douai, Lens and Valenciennes, but smaller roads through villages and fields are quieter. For a more interesting ride, head west to the hills of Artois or south to the battlefields of the First World War around Arras. Wind and rain are common, and cobbled stretches remain in some villages, as fans of the Paris–Roubaix cycle race know well.
Auby, a small town nearby, and Douai, the main city of the area, will cover fuel and a meal. Northern cooking is built for cold days: carbonnade flamande, beef stewed in beer, potjevleesch, a cold terrine of mixed meats in jelly, and maroilles cheese, served in a tart or on its own. Wash it down with a local beer, and if you are brave, try climbing to the top of a terril for a view across the flat land.