Bordeaux to Amsterdam

[chaingangclub]

OK I'm cycling across France and fancy cycling more the otherside of the channel then from Portsmouth up to London so I am considering going onto Amsterdam to get a ferry from there across to harwich.

Anyone done a similar route?

 

[Brains]

A lot of us have done Calais/Dunkirk to Amsterdam/Rotterdam (Hoek of Holland). For most people it's their first 'overseas' tour

I think you have a couple of routes, depending on time:

You could head south, follow the Canal du Midi via Carcassonne, along the south coast, up the valley of the Rhone, hop right which would take you up the valley of the Mosel as far as Luxembourg, then a straight line to Amsterdam, or follow the Mosel until it joins the Rhine at Koblenz, and then follow the Rhine to Amsterdam,
I've done large sections of that, to do it one go would be amazing and fairly flat

Or head north to the Loire, follow the river as far as Orleans, then join the Seine as far as Paris and then city hop to Amsterdam, the Loire is stunning is you like castles, which will be mostly closed out of season, but this would be at least week or two quicker that the route above

In either case BikeLine books cover large sections of the route with very good maps
http://www.esterbauer.co.uk/international.html
It does not matter what language they are written in, its the maps that count)

For the cycle route between Harwich and London ask on this site as i know they have one, or browse through CycleChart pages as i remember it has been published several times
http://fridaynightridetothecoast.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/welcome-to-friday-night-ride-to-coast.html

 

[chaingangclub]

A lot of us have done Calais/Dunkirk to Amsterdam/Rotterdam (Hoek of Holland). For most people it's their first 'overseas' tour

I think you have a couple of routes, depending on time:

You could head south, follow the Canal du Midi via Carcassonne, along the south coast, up the valley of the Rhone, hop right which would take you up the valley of the Mosel as far as Luxembourg, then a straight line to Amsterdam, or follow the Mosel until it joins the Rhine at Koblenz, and then follow the Rhine to Amsterdam,
I've done large sections of that, to do it one go would be amazing and fairly flat

Or head north to the Loire, follow the river as far as Orleans, then join the Seine as far as Paris and then city hop to Amsterdam, the Loire is stunning is you like castles, which will be mostly closed out of season, but this would be at least week or two quicker that the route above

In either case BikeLine books cover large sections of the route with very good maps
http://www.esterbauer.co.uk/international.html
It does not matter what language they are written in, its the maps that count)

For the cycle route between Harwich and London ask on this site as i know they have one, or browse through CycleChart pages as i remember it has been published several times
http://fridaynightridetothecoast.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/welcome-to-friday-night-ride-to-coast.html

Really helpful! thanks for that! I was looking at the route through luxembourg

 

[Brains]

Really helpful! thanks for that! I was looking at the route through luxembourg

We took the long way around
Luxembourg is hilly, very hilly, so we went down the Mosel to Koblenz and then followed the Rhine, its defiantly further the the Luxembourg 'straight line' route, but the Mosel/Rhine probably quicker as it's flat, the German rivers have cycle routes along the length.
The German rivers are often stunning, and in my opinion are the best places to cycle tour in Europe because of the 'cyclist is king' infstructure.
You need to BikeLine books, for the map to know where to cross, the route, eating and sleeping options (**** hotels, B&B's campsites).
There are English versions of the Loire, Mosel and Rhine routes.