We will be embarking on our first camping trip to France shortly and will taking our bikes. We will be staying in the Picardy region close to the small town of Quend near the Somme estuary. I've heard it is good for cycling there, and aerial photographs appear to show lots of small tracks etc that look good for this.Google maps does show some cycle route but not much.
Is there any resource, beyond buying the IGN maps of the region(which I intend to do), that will show officially designated cycle paths?
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I have read about the local tourist offices being a good place so I will definitely pay them a visit. I also think the staff on the campsite will be of help. I'm not after doing Tour De France stages anyway, just a bit of leisurely pottering about. And thanks for the IGN 906 reference. I have not come across that one as my usual map supplier does not stock it.
Many thanks.
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you are doing something that I have been thinking about for a while,pottering about the area on our bikes.In particular around the Somme with a leaning towards WW1 sites,but I need to keep it interesting for the two ladies in my life that would have no interest whatsoever in battlefields etc.
What I was wondering is would you maybe come back and let us know what the area is like cycling wise,ie.Pretty,flat,interesting routes,safe cycle tracks, it would be great.I have viewed it on Google maps using street view,and that gives a good idea,but real feedback would be so much better.In that way when we do go,I can "stumble"across the odd foxhole or graveyard,they will be enjoying themselves with other stuff,and I can pretend its not the real reason why I am there....if you know what I mean!
I will report back no problem. I too have a leaning to visit as many WWI sites as possible but share your situation. I am there the last week in June with a further week back in the UK so will report back after that.
Google 'Voie Vertes Somme', it shows various leaflets you can get for cycling.
The British Memorial at Thiepval is very interesting and worth a visit, even for the less interested. There is a visitor centre there too, though it has been built since I last visited.
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We visited Thiepval last year and found the visitor centre very informative. The memorial itself was very moving, as are all these places.
The cycle tracks round the Somme bay are very well maintained and signed, as are the routes by the side of the Somme canal. There are plenty of quiet country roads suitable for cycling also.
In a lot of areas there are signposted walking and cycling routes that are pretty easy to follow and you can get maps for them from the tourist office. About 15 to 20 km, that sort of distance. We usually take a baguette, some cheese and a bottle of water and stop off under a tree somewhere.
Because France is so big not absolutely everywhere is a tarred road, and it is possible to find yourself pedaling along a field track with head-high corn on one side and sunflowers on the other and ... maybe a steeple in the distance. Heaven :-)
We've been to that area many times and like you are keen cyclists. It's a lovely area around Quend, we've stayed at La Ferme des Aulnes quite a few times and cycled there.
There are a number of waymarked routes named after birds in that area, you just follow the signs, and it's a lovely way of exploring the area, that part of it is called Parc du Marquenterre. I've picked up the leaflet from the Tourist Office, but there is also a website version HERE.
We've done some of those routes a number of times, and a lot of it is either on cyclepaths (they are constructing quite a few dedicated cyclepaths in the area) or on very quiet roads. It's very flat too so that's always a bonus!!
Edited to say that there is a cyclepath which runs all the way round the bay from Le Crotoy to St Valery sur Somme. We've done that a couple of times too, it's quite a long way, but flat and all on a dedicated cyclepath, so you're very safe.
And believe it or not, one day we also cycled up to the Aire de Baie de Somme on the A16, via all the backroads! That also is a perfectly good road to cycle on and quite a few people do that.
------------- Ina
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Hi Francais
I have the equivalent IGN map for the French canals which are excellent for cycling on the tow paths - more and more are well surfaced or tarred and traffic free. Is the "velo map" for long randonnees or are there shortish round trips of 20/30 kms as well?
I think I will send off for it. Would be well worth it for even a couple of good trips. Thanks for the link.
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Topic: French Cycle Route Maps
