Weekend Cycle,London to France-Route and Help!

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mossy199

New Member
Location
North London
Hi,

I am looking to organise a wee cycle during the Summer. I am in good shape and have a high standard road bike. The basic route would be London to Dover ( its 70 miles, so I was thinking maybe get the train and boat to Calais, or I could cycle there and get boat back) that’s where im stuck so far!


I really am not sure where to go from. I would be looking at 70+ (approx) miles a day over 3 days around north france, maybe Belgium etc…


This really is a rough sketch so far…maybe in need to expand more so please ask any questions. Any help on a route I would take…accommodation etc…
Thanks in advance.
 

GrahamG

Guru
Location
Bristol
I wouldn't waste any more time than is necessary riding here in the UK - it's just too unpleasant in comparison to the continent and you're already limited for time. Get the train both ways and have an extra day riding around. You could probably do a loop to include some pave if you fancy soaking up some cycling history, or just get a 1:250,000 ish road map and see what takes your fancy.
 

Domestique

Über Member
Why not take the Dover - Dunkirk ferry then ride out to Ypers. One night and day there then back to Dunkirk?
There are some nice rides around Ypers, The Peace route etc. Also the road in/out of the ferry port at Dunkirk are really quiet if you wait 20 minutes or so to let the ferry traffic pass you by. I am not sure what Calais is like to cycle to or from, but there is a lot more traffic to deal with.
 

JackE

Über Member
Location
Hertfordshire
In '08 we did Calais to Bruges (80 miles). It was mainly on excellent canal paths after Bergues. Day 2 was Bruges to Ypres (after an early morning trip along the wonderful canal between Bruges and Sluis, which was one of the most enjoyable rides I've ever done). Day 3 was Ypres back to Calais. In hindsight we should have done the last half of this bit by train and spent more time around Ypres.
Our total mileage was around the 220 mark (the "detour" out to Sluis was about 25 miles).
 

andym

Über Member
GrahamG said:
I wouldn't waste any more time than is necessary riding here in the UK - it's just too unpleasant in comparison to the continent and you're already limited for time.

Erm right - the Weald of Kent vs the Pas de Calais. Kent wins hands down.
 
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