Why this ride
158 km from Nœux-les-Mines to Nœux-les-Mines, about 2 h 55 of riding. It goes by way of Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt, La citadella d’Arras, Cité de la Parisienne and back through La citadella d’Arras.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- and Cité de la Parisienne
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 158 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 55
- 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. Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
Noeux-les-Mines stands between Béthune and Lens, and its skyline is dominated by two things: tall slag heaps, the terrils, and the old pithead structures that survive from the coal years. It is the surviving heart of a mine, with its headframe, winding house, baths and offices, plus the housing, school and church that went with it. The UNESCO listing of 2012 includes the Noeux-les-Mines area among its many components, for the sake of the whole landscape rather than any one building.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- 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 Noeux-les- is where the day begins. Next is Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt.
2. Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Drocourt lies in the middle of the basin, between Lens and Douai, and its landscape tells the story of coal on a human scale. The pit-head frames and brick buildings of the old shafts, the spoil heaps sprouting trees and the long rows of miners' houses lie almost within sight of one another, and together they are listed as part of the UNESCO Mining Basin. Nearby is the old pumping house at the Sarteau shaft, a reminder that water was always the miners' enemy, and that huge machines had to keep the workings dry day and night.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt 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 Drocourt comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is La citadella d’Arras.
3. La citadella d’Arras
The people of Arras call their citadel la belle inutile, the beautiful useless one, and they say it with affection. Vauban built it in the late seventeenth century, after Louis XIV took Artois from Spain, as part of the chain of fortresses meant to lock France's northern border. Its star-shaped ramparts, bastions and moats are textbook Vauban, but the border moved north before the fortress ever saw a serious siege, hence the nickname. It is one of the twelve sites grouped as the Fortifications of Vauban on the UNESCO list since 2008. Its later history is darker: during the Second World War, the Germans executed resistance fighters in the moat, and a memorial there lists their names.
Read the complete La citadella d’Arras write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach La citadella d’Arras. Next is Cité de la Parisienne.
4. Cité de la Parisienne
Drocourt is the sort of place you could ride through without a second glance, and you would miss a small piece of the story of northern France. The Cité de la Parisienne is a mining housing estate on the edge of the town, a grid of brick houses built by the coal company for its workers and their families, part of the UNESCO-listed Mining Basin. The name comes from the company that dug coal here. Hénin-Beaumont and Rouvroy press in on either side, and the black cones of the slag heaps rise above the rooftops.
Read the complete Cité de la Parisienne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité de la Parisienne, about halfway. Next is back through La citadella d’Arras.
5. back through La citadella d’Arras
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La citadella d’Arras write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through La citadella d’Arras sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt.
6. back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt comes up about 132 km into the recorded legs. Next is Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-.
7. Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- 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 Noeux-les- closes the day.
Leg by leg
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- to Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- → Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt to La citadella d’Arras
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt → La citadella d’Arras is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La citadella d’Arras to Cité de la Parisienne
La citadella d’Arras → Cité de la Parisienne is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cité de la Parisienne to back through La citadella d’Arras
Cité de la Parisienne → back through La citadella d’Arras is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La citadella d’Arras to back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
back through La citadella d’Arras → back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt to Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les-
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt → Paysage et ensemble miniers de Noeux-les- is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.