Why this ride
A 225 km round trip from Denain - roughly 3 h 38 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cité du n°7 de Béthune, Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de and back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fosse Mathilde and Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 225 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 38
- 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. Fosse Mathilde
Denain is remembered in French history for an afternoon in July 1712, when Marshal Villars crossed the Scheldt and smashed an allied army under Prince Eugene of Savoy, a victory that rescued France in the closing years of the War of the Spanish Succession and is still marked in the town. The Fosse Mathilde belongs to a later and quieter story. A fosse is the northern word for a pit, and these shafts were named for company directors and their families, so Mathilde was a lady before she was a hole in the ground.
Read the complete Fosse Mathilde write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fosse Mathilde is where the day begins. Next is Cité du n°7 de Béthune.
2. Cité du n°7 de Béthune
Between Grenay, Mazingarbe and Vermelles, in the heart of the Gohelle, the Cité du n°7 is one of the mining villages built by the Compagnie des mines de Béthune for the workers of its pit number 7. The houses, laid out in tidy rows with gardens, still form a coherent neighbourhood, part of the UNESCO-listed mining basin. Each company built its cités in its own style, and the variety of brick patterns, porches and layouts is surprisingly rich once you start looking.
Read the complete Cité du n°7 de Béthune write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité du n°7 de Béthune comes up about 54 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de.
3. Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de
On 26 March 1918, with the German spring offensive smashing through the British lines and threatening to split the Allied armies apart, French and British leaders met in the town hall of Doullens, a small town on the river Authie, north of Amiens. In a room on the first floor, they agreed to give the French general Ferdinand Foch the coordination of all Allied forces on the Western Front, a decision that many historians see as a turning point of the war. The room, now known as the Salle du Commandement Unique, can still be visited, with a stained glass window commemorating the meeting. The belfry of the old town hall, a solid tower from the late Middle Ages, is part of the UNESCO group of belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 114 km into the recorded legs you reach Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de. Next is back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune.
4. back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cité du n°7 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 Cité du n°7 de Béthune, late in the day. Next is Fosse Mathilde.
5. Fosse Mathilde
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fosse Mathilde write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fosse Mathilde. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fosse Mathilde to Cité du n°7 de Béthune
Fosse Mathilde → Cité du n°7 de Béthune is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cité du n°7 de Béthune to Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de
Cité du n°7 de Béthune → Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de to back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune
Beffroi de l’ancienne maison communale de → back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune to Fosse Mathilde
back through Cité du n°7 de Béthune → Fosse Mathilde is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.