Touring Northern France

MyNameIsDavid

This summer I'm hoping to tour northern France with a friend. We're going to go to Calais and then ride across the North of France, maybe even to the East Coast.

The questions I have are these;

1) Would it be worth it traveling across the North East area of France or should we start in Normandy.

2)Would it be possible to wild camp in forests the whole time along the way. Maybe even with the possibility of a very small fire?

3)Are there any good quality mountain bike tracks or areas around Northern France to visit?

Thanks.

Tourist Tony

"EAST" coast?

MyNameIsDavid

West Coast sorry, living on the East Coast of england obviously distorted my brain clearly.

djmc

I'm not sure about mountain bike trails, bur I've done a bit of riding round Boulogne and inland. There is a forêt domainiale behind Boulogne. I think wild Camping in France is illegal particularly in forests and if you were found lighting fires in such you would probably be roasted alive in your own fire. Forest fires are a real problem in the south but even in the north can be so. The north of France is an excellent area for cycling but not at all wild. Virtually all towns and even villages have municipal campsites which are not expensive. Otherwise ask at farms where they may well let you camp but it would be unwise to assume that you can.

andymiller

MyNameIsDavid wrote:

This summer I'm hoping to tour northern France with a friend. We're going to go to Calais and then ride across the North of France, maybe even to the East Coast.

The questions I have are these;

1) Would it be worth it traveling across the North East area of France or should we start in Normandy.

2)Would it be possible to wild camp in forests the whole time along the way. Maybe even with the possibility of a very small fire?

3)Are there any good quality mountain bike tracks or areas around Northern France to visit?

Thanks.

Answer to question 1 depends really on whether you have a strong reason for going via Calais. If not why not sit down and compare the options? Personally I'd sail direct to Caen or Dieppe especially if time is limited.

As someone has said, wild camping is illegal. It's not too difficult to find campsites for less than 10 euros a night.

There are plenty of mountain bike centres in both Normandy and Brittany. There are also mountain bike routes to follow. The Suisse Normande has a good reputation.

For more information you could start with the national FFCT website . www.utagawavtt.com is also a useful resource.