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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Hôtel de ville and Ensemble minier des Argales

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
257 km
Riding-time estimate
4 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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Bruay-la-Buissière it runs 257 km to Bruay-la-Buissière; allow about 4 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines, Ensemble minier des Argales and back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines. It crosses from France into Belgium - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Hôtel de ville

    Bruay-la-Buissière is a mining town that grew from almost nothing into a busy industrial centre in less than a century, and its town hall, an imposing building in the heart of town, is a statement of that civic pride. The label points to the Hôtel de ville, one of the many urban and public buildings of the mining era that are part of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin World Heritage site. It sits on the western end of the coalfield, where the plain begins to rise towards the chalk hills of Artois.

    Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Hôtel de ville is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines.

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

    Comines is one of those towns the border runs straight through. The river Lys, the Leie to the Flemish, divides French Comines from Belgian Comines-Warneton, and you can cross from one country to the other on a bridge without noticing much more than a change in the shape of the street signs. On the French side the town hall and its belfry stand over the main square, a tall brick tower in the Flemish style with a pointed roof and a carillon, part of the group of belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO.

    Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines 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 Comines comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ensemble minier des Argales.

  3. 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 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Ensemble minier des Argales. Next is back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines.

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

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines 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 Comines, late in the day. Next is Hôtel de ville.

  5. 5. Hôtel de ville

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Back at Hôtel de ville. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Hôtel de ville to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines

Hôtel de ville → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines to Ensemble minier des Argales

Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines → Ensemble minier des Argales is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Ensemble minier des Argales to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines

Ensemble minier des Argales → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines to Hôtel de ville

back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines → Hôtel de ville is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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