Why this ride
A 69 km round trip from Oignies - roughly 1 h 13 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais, Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les and back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image and Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 69 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image
Oignies holds a special place in the history of northern France: it is where coal mining in the Pas-de-Calais began and where it ended. In 1842, coal was found here during a search for water on the estate of a local landowner, Henriette de Clercq, starting a rush that transformed the region. And on 21 December 1990, the last tonne of coal in the Nord-Pas de Calais basin was brought up from the 9-9bis pit in Oignies, ending more than two and a half centuries of mining in the region. The old Fosse n°2 and its mine-image, a training gallery where young miners learned their trade above ground, are part of the World Heritage site.
Read the complete Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image is where the day begins. Next is Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais.
2. Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais
The mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais is flat country made hilly by hand. Around Lens, the heaps of slag left by two centuries of coal digging rise like black pyramids above the fields, and the red-brick miners' houses stand in long, tidy terraces, row after row, called corons. This particular stop lies in the town of Lens, in a cité, the name for a company-built miners' estate, and the numbers in the label come from the way the mining companies numbered their pits and estates.
Read the complete Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-.
3. Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
Noeux-les-Mines stands between Béthune and Lens, and its skyline is dominated by two things: tall slag heaps, the terrils, and the old pithead structures that survive from the coal years. It is the surviving heart of a mine, with its headframe, winding house, baths and offices, plus the housing, school and church that went with it. The UNESCO listing of 2012 includes the Noeux-les-Mines area among its many components, for the sake of the whole landscape rather than any one building.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 37 km into the recorded legs you reach Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-. Next is back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais.
4. back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais, late in the day. Next is Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image.
5. Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image to Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais
Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image → Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais to Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais → Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- to back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- → back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais to Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image
back through Cité n°2 62 Pas-de-Calais → Ancienne Fosse n°2 et mine-image is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.