3 day tour - Northern France / Belgium

[nammynake]

I'm planning a short (circa 3 days) tour around Northern Europe this summer and looking for ideas. We will most likely ride to Dover, catch the ferry over and start our tour from there. The route will need to finish back in Calais (so 3 days in France / Belgium etc).

We'll be travelling with relatively light setups (i.e. saddle / frame bags) therefore will need to stay in B&Bs / Hotels rather than camping. I'd like this to be relatively relaxing tour, with time for lunch and a few beers each evening, so probably 150 miles max per day.

Ghent/Bruge seem like obvious targets, but any other recommendations? I've cycled in Northern France before when we rode from Blackpool to Paris and I seem to recall miles and miles of nothing other than farmland - I'd like some interesting town/sights each day, though don't mind some boring sections if it gets us to interesting places.

[LEE]

Here's my Son's itinerary

https://youtu.be/FMzju4pH694

[Regulator]

I'd change the ferry route from Dover - Calais to Dover - Dunkirk (which is actually Loon Plage).

Day 1 - Dunkirk to Ypres (c. 40 miles).  Make sure you're there for the Menin Gate ceremony at 8.00 p.m.

Day 2 - Ypres - Ghent (45-50 miles depending on whether you go via Kortirjk or Roeselare - either are good stops for lunch and both routes go through areas with WW1 connections. ). 

Days 3 - Ghent - Bruges (c. 28 miles via the Brugge-Nord canal route and there are some good diversions for lunch/touristy things - including several very good breweries)

Day 4 - Bruges to Veurne via rail (takes about an hour via Lichtervelde) then cycle Veurne to Dunkirk Port (about 25 miles)

[Steph]

If you DO ride from Calais, come out of the ferry port and cut across the main road to the industrial estate. That is a slip road peeling off the main exit to a roundabout, straight over, sp Oye Plage/ZI Des Dunes. Ride that road south alongside the canal till turning left on Route De Gravelines, which crosses the main road on a raised bridge and links to a maze of minor roads with beird reserve and lots of rurality all the way to Gravelines and Loon Plage. Shit two mile straight by the Alcan works on a rough tarmac surface works you to the edge of Dunkirk.Grand Synthe.

[nammynake]

I'd change the ferry route from Dover - Calais to Dover - Dunkirk (which is actually Loon Plage).

Day 1 - Dunkirk to Ypres (c. 40 miles).  Make sure you're there for the Menin Gate ceremony at 8.00 p.m.

Day 2 - Ypres - Ghent (45-50 miles depending on whether you go via Kortirjk or Roeselare - either are good stops for lunch and both routes go through areas with WW1 connections. ). 

Days 3 - Ghent - Bruges (c. 28 miles via the Brugge-Nord canal route and there are some good diversions for lunch/touristy things - including several very good breweries)

Day 4 - Bruges to Veurne via rail (takes about an hour via Lichtervelde) then cycle Veurne to Dunkirk Port (about 25 miles)

Thanks - didn't realise you could get the ferry to Dunkirk, I'll look into that. I should clarify that my mileage above is per day, so ideally I'd like to cover 100 miles per day minimum, up to 150 miles maximum.

[Regulator]

I'd change the ferry route from Dover - Calais to Dover - Dunkirk (which is actually Loon Plage).

Day 1 - Dunkirk to Ypres (c. 40 miles).  Make sure you're there for the Menin Gate ceremony at 8.00 p.m.

Day 2 - Ypres - Ghent (45-50 miles depending on whether you go via Kortirjk or Roeselare - either are good stops for lunch and both routes go through areas with WW1 connections. ). 

Days 3 - Ghent - Bruges (c. 28 miles via the Brugge-Nord canal route and there are some good diversions for lunch/touristy things - including several very good breweries)

Day 4 - Bruges to Veurne via rail (takes about an hour via Lichtervelde) then cycle Veurne to Dunkirk Port (about 25 miles)

Thanks - didn't realise you could get the ferry to Dunkirk, I'll look into that. I should clarify that my mileage above is per day, so ideally I'd like to cover 100 miles per day minimum, up to 150 miles maximum.

If you’re doing 100+ miles a day in northern France or Belgium then you’re not making the most of an area steeped in history.  The trick is to slow down and really take things in.  Stop at the WW1 cemeteries and read some of the gravestones... visit some of the churches... or a brewery or two.  Visit the Frites Museum or sit with a coffee and an eau de vie and watch the world go by.

Experience the place - rather than just cycle through it...

[Kim]

Some people like seeing stuff, some people like riding bikes.  Some people like both, in different combinations at the mood might take them.  There's room for everything from endurance racing through audax to credit card touring and fully-loaded stopping at every cafe.

Seems just as valid to visit the area for the opportunity to cycle on decent roads, as for the beer or the history.  IMHO making the most of a place requires more than one trip.

[Canardly]

There is some interesting climbing to be had along the french border Rodeberg, Zwarteberg, Kemmel etc. Rolling hills along the Messines ridge and flatlands/gentle rises to the north and east of Ieper. I am with Reg tho' loads of history to take in if you are that way inclined. The coast is only 40 or so miles long so you could make the Netherlands pocket on the Belgian side of the Scheldt as well. When travelling on Eurostar last year the billiard table northern French plain on the approach to Lille greatly appealed for future exploration.

[Ivo]

With about 100k per day you could indeed include a few interesting bits.
Just some ideas:

Dunkirk - Ghent, 120km with a tailwind
Ghent - Geraardsbergen - Tournai, 80km, sampling a few Flemish hills on the way
Tournai - Douai - Béthune, 80km with a few beautiful French-Flemish towns
Béthune - Calais (-Dunkirk) 80 (120km)

[Psychler]

Dunkirk - Ghent, 120km with a tailwind
Ghent - Geraardsbergen - Tournai, 80km, sampling a few Flemish hills on the way
Tournai - Douai - Béthune, 80km with a few beautiful French-Flemish towns
Béthune - Calais (-Dunkirk) 80 (120km)

If you're staying in Béthune make sure that you have a few pints of Guiness in The Kerry Yob.  Very, friendly "Irish" bar in the Grand Place.  They have a lot of young student type characters in there, very open minded and quite fascinated by English visitors.  The clientele love chatting to strangers.  It has a real mix of people in there.

Apparently, I speak French with a Canadian accent.