Cycling UK Forum

Is it possible to follow the coast north from Calais on cycle paths? Any advice on this or alternatives would be much appreciated.

hi jake,

not sure....have you considered route LF1 the Noordzeeroute?.....

I stayed in Damme just north of Bruges two summers ago with some friends for a long cycling weekend and had a great time....while you're there you might just as well carry on up the canal and pop into Holland by visiting Sluis...a beautiful area..

for VERY friendly accomodation try http://www.denachtegaaldamme.be/

brgds Andy (moulton apb)

Hi Andy,
We cycled along that section of coast in April 2006 - I don't recall whether it was cycle route 100% of the way in the French section but there was a nice seaside cycle route in Dunkerque. All the way along the Belgian coast we followed signposted on-road cycle routes (the roads were so little and quiet that traffic wasn't an issue). Signs can be occasionally missing or ambiguous, so it's a good idea to have a compass.

The only problems we had were in Zeebrugge, where the cycle route took us around the houses for a bit and eventually vanished into a mass of roadworks, but I guess if you are heading for Brugge you would be leaving the coast before you got that far.

see blog entries here:
http://bikehippies.blogspot.com/2006/04 ... hills.html
http://bikehippies.blogspot.com/2006/04 ... three.html

Good luck with your trip,
Helen

There is an excellent cycle track following the canals starting at Dunkerque,next to the N1 road, this takes you all the way to Brugge via Verne, Neiuport and Oudenburg.Lovely route good surface.Verne town square has lots of good cafes .The Calais end is n't so straightforward though but the minor coast road to Gravelines has very little traffic and is remarkably pleasant.Gravelines is a moated village and well worth a stop Not a lot you can do between Dunkerque port and Dunkerque itself (about 10k) lots of port traffic and pretty uninspired suburbs, there is a cycle lane marked on the road for most of this short section. A 130k ride of which 115 is just great.

NO , YOU need a good map .

I have done boulogne - holland and stayed by the coast so any further questions ,i will be more than happy to help .

It is an easy route after Dunkirk , no heavy traffic .

The cycle track mentioned by Malpas, can be found here :

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Be ... em-Eeklo-G

It is all along waterways and there is mostly no other trafic. Splendid views on the Polders. The Belgian coast line has lost a great part of it's attraction as it consists of a monotonous raw of apartment blocks. With a sense of Belgian humour and a wink to the past, we call it the 'Atlantik Wall.'

More maps by Fietslogies :

http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/by/fietslogies

Fietslogies
Ghent - Belgium