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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Canterbury Cathedral and Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la-

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
311 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 14
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Canterbury it runs 311 km to Canterbury; allow about 4 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais, Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la and back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais. It crosses from United Kingdom into France - carry ID and check the toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Scenic road chapters

Canterbury Cathedral → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais

Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 88 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.

Chapter facts
Length
94 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Canterbury Cathedral

    Canterbury Cathedral has been the mother church of English Christianity for fourteen hundred years, and it stands in the middle of a compact walled city in east Kent, rising out of a tangle of medieval lanes. The central tower, called Bell Harry, was finished in the late fifteenth century and can be seen for miles across the surrounding farmland, a pale spire above the orchards and hop gardens.

    Read the complete Canterbury Cathedral write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Canterbury Cathedral is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.

  2. 2. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais

    Most riders know Calais as the place where the ferry or the tunnel train spits them out onto French tarmac, and they head south without a backward glance. Spare it an hour. The town hall is a surprise, a grand building in Flemish Renaissance style finished in the early twentieth century, and its belfry, one of the tallest in the region, rises well above the rooftops as a landmark you can see from the port. It forms part of the UNESCO list of belfries in Belgium and France, alongside towers that are centuries older.

    Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais 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 de Calais comes up about 94 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la-.

  3. 3. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la-

    Aire-sur-la-Lys is the kind of small French town that rewards a slow walk with no plan. Its belfry rises from the eighteenth-century town hall on the Grand Place, an elegant classical building topped by a tall tower with a lantern and a carillon, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France. Across the square stands the Bailliage, a richly decorated Renaissance building from around 1600, with arches, carved figures and a little loggia, which once housed the guard and the town's officials. A few streets away, the great collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, built in a flamboyant Gothic style, rises above the rooftops.

    Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la- write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 156 km into the recorded legs you reach Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la-. Next is back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais.

  4. 4. back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville 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 Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais, late in the day. Next is Canterbury Cathedral.

  5. 5. Canterbury Cathedral

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Canterbury Cathedral write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Canterbury Cathedral. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Canterbury Cathedral to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais

Canterbury Cathedral → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 94 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la-

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la- is 62 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la- to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville d’Aire-sur-la- → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais is 62 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais to Canterbury Cathedral

back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Calais → Canterbury Cathedral is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

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