Why this ride
A 160 km round trip from Oignies - roughly 2 h 43 in the saddle. On the way it passes Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d, Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait, Monument du soldat Marche and back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° and Monument du soldat Marche
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 160 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 43
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n°
At Oignies the last coal in the whole Nord-Pas-de-Calais basin was brought up, and the pit closed in December 1990. That was the end of more than two and a half centuries of mining in northern France, and the buildings of pit number 9 and 9 bis survive as a monument and, remarkably, as a concert hall. The old headframes and sheds now host rock bands, and the site is one of the most striking pieces of the UNESCO-listed mining landscape. Two terrils, slag heaps from the mine, rise behind it, green with birch and bramble.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° is where the day begins. Next is Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d.
2. Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d
In the mining towns of northern France, the companies built not only pits and houses but whole communities, with churches, schools, dispensaries and, after the First World War, monuments to the dead. This war memorial and the iron gates of a mining cité in Mazingarbe are small parts of that story, included in the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin World Heritage site. They stand among rows of brick houses, gardens and allotments in a town shaped by coal.
Read the complete Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d comes up 25 km in. Next is Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait.
3. Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait
Mining companies in northern France did more than dig coal. They built housing, schools, churches, shops and clinics, so that workers' lives were shaped from birth to burial by the company, and the Goutte de Lait, the Drop of Milk, is a piece of that system. The name refers to the charitable clinics set up across France from the late nineteenth century to give mothers advice and clean milk for their babies, in an age when infant mortality was terrifying. In Auchel, the building belonged to the mining community, and it is listed as part of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin.
Read the complete Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
50 km in you reach Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait. Next is Monument du soldat Marche.
4. Monument du soldat Marche
Bully-les-Mines lies just below the long ridge of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, where the great French military cemetery overlooks the coalfield, and the juxtaposition says something about this part of France. The land around is a battlefield and a mining basin at the same time. In 1914 and 1915 the front line ran through here, and the villages were shattered. After the war they were rebuilt, and the new mining estates, the cités de la Victoire and des Arbres, took names that spoke of recovery.
Read the complete Monument du soldat Marche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monument du soldat Marche, about halfway. Next is back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait.
5. back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d.
6. back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d comes up 124 km in. Next is Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n°.
7. Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n°
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° closes the day.
Leg by leg
Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° to Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d
Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° → Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d to Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait
Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d → Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait to Monument du soldat Marche
Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait → Monument du soldat Marche is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monument du soldat Marche to back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait
Monument du soldat Marche → back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait to back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d
back through Bâtiment de la Goutte de Lait → back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d to Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n°
back through Monument aux morts et grilles de la cité d → Paysage et ensemble miniers de la fosse n° is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.