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I had looked at Calais to Dieppe, but saw someone suggest it's about as exciting as cycling from Slough to Peterborough!
Having done exactly that in September, I would seriously question the experience and judgement of whoever told you that!
It's a beautiful coastline, stunning beaches, great restaurants lovely campsites, and virtually all of it is either on cycle paths or quiet lanes.
I did it over three days - two of which were really half days. First day was train to dover and ferry. Good chat with three other cycle tourists on the ferry. Then 25km afternoon / evening ride to Wissant. Lovely coastal scenery.
Long day was 130km to Le Crotoy on the Somme Bay. Really beautiful beaches. A slightly dull couple of hours in the Netherlands sense section, where there was a long section of rural cycle path with not much happening, but lovely views most of the day. Campsite right in the town at le Crotoy.
Last day was flat across the coastal marshes then hilly along the cliff tops to dieppe. Beautiful little seaside resorts for coffee / lunch stops. Then dinner / final beers in dieppe before the ferry.
Id really recommend it for a relaxed trip. Look out for the wind, though. It's normally going to be a tailwind from dieppe to calais so default would be to go that way. I went from calais as there was a N/E wind that week.
Otherwise I've done loads of trips from dieppe and really recommend it as a base for a circular tour. I've generally done long rides but have in mind some circular Normandy trips, combining going west along the coast and back inland (or reverse if wind). Hard to go wrong route wise. The only bit I don't like is the Voie verte. I think you can have too much of them, like canals.
I'm sure further west is lovely too. Logistics of Dover and Newhaven are very easy from London though, and the ferries are cheap / can book late. But I'll work my way down there over the next few years!
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44529008
I'd definitely do it again, maybe the other direction, different stops, different side detours, etc.
I liked it so much I took my family back to the Somme bay for a few days at October half term, and did a bit more riding around there.
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frank9755
RonnieOatmilk
hippy
Hi all,
Me and a mate are looking at planning a cycle trip through France in spring next year and wondered if anyone had any recommendations? We're looking at getting a ferry from the UK direct to France to then do a round trip. Where's best to get the ferry into? We looked at doing a round trip and getting the same ferry back or possibly arriving in one place and getting the ferry back from elsewhere. I had looked at Calais to Dieppe, but saw someone suggest it's about as exciting as cycling from Slough to Peterborough!
We want a fairly leisurely trip, something scenic and rural with places to swim along the way (coastal, lakes, rivers etc), we'd be camping mostly so good options for that too ideally! Likely doing about 5 days of cycling using the weekends either side of a week to travel back.
What are your experiences and suggestions, I'd love to be able to discuss with people that have done it!