Why this ride
A 232 km round trip from Hesdin - roughly 3 h 46 in the saddle. The stops in between: Beffroi de Béthune, Ensemble minier des Argales and back through Beffroi de Béthune.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin and Ensemble minier des Argales
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 232 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- 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. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin
Hesdin is a small market town in the green valley of the Canche, in the Pas-de-Calais, and it owes its existence to an act of destruction. The original town, a few kilometres upstream, was razed in 1553 by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and a new fortified town was built here the following year as a strongpoint on the frontier between France and the Habsburg Netherlands. The grid of streets and the large market square still follow that plan. On the square stands the town hall, a former palace of the Habsburg governors, with a beautifully carved Renaissance balcony from which proclamations were read, and its belfry is part of the UNESCO list of belfries in Belgium and France.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de Béthune.
2. Beffroi de Béthune
The belfry of Béthune has been standing in the middle of the Grand Place since the fourteenth century, and it has survived more than most of the buildings around it. In 1918 the town centre was almost completely destroyed by German shelling, and the square was rebuilt in the 1920s in a mix of Flemish and Art Deco styles, with tall, ornate façades in brick and stone around the old tower. The belfry, a symbol of the town's ancient freedoms, is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, and climbing its stairs gives a fine view over the rooftops and the flat land around.
Read the complete Beffroi de Béthune write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de Béthune comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ensemble minier des Argales.
3. Ensemble minier des Argales
At Rieulay, in the middle of the Scarpe valley, the terril des Argales is one of the largest spoil heaps in France, a vast, flat-topped plateau of mining waste stretching for well over a kilometre. Once a stark, black wasteland, it has been transformed into a nature and leisure area, with a lake at its foot, trails, viewpoints and a nature reserve where rare plants and birds have found a home. The site, together with nearby mining remains, is part of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin, listed by UNESCO in 2012.
Read the complete Ensemble minier des Argales write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 119 km into the recorded legs you reach Ensemble minier des Argales. Next is back through Beffroi de Béthune.
4. back through Beffroi de Béthune
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de Béthune write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beffroi de Béthune, late in the day. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin.
5. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin to Beffroi de Béthune
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin → Beffroi de Béthune is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de Béthune to Ensemble minier des Argales
Beffroi de Béthune → Ensemble minier des Argales is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ensemble minier des Argales to back through Beffroi de Béthune
Ensemble minier des Argales → back through Beffroi de Béthune is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de Béthune to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin
back through Beffroi de Béthune → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Hesdin is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.