1 Tower of London to Rochester
Stage 2 Rochester to Ashford
Stage 3 Ashford to Dover
Stage 4 Calais to Desvres
Stage 5 Desvres to Hesdin
Stage 6 Hesdin to Abbeville
Stage 7 Abbeville to Amiens
Stage 8 Amiens to Beauvais
Stage 9 Beauvais to Chantilly
Stage 10 Chantilly to St Denis market
Stage 11 St Denis market to Eiffel Tower
AVENUE VERTE (VIA NEWHAVEN–DIEPPE)
Stage 1 London Eye to Redhill
Stage 2 Redhill to Eridge
Stage 3 Eridge to Newhaven
Stage 4 Dieppe to Neufchâtel-en-Bray
Stage 5 Neufchâtel-en-Bray to Gournay-en-Bray
Stage 6 Gournay-en-Bray to Gisors
Stage 7 Gisors to Neuville-sur-Oise
Stage 8 Neuville-sur-Oise to St Denis station
Stage 9 St Denis station to Notre Dame cathedral
Appendix A Facilities summary tables
Appendix B Tourist information offices
Appendix C Youth hostels
Appendix D Useful contacts
Appendix E Language glossary
Mello château sits on a hilltop overlooking the town (classic route, Stage 9)
ROUTE SUMMARY TABLES
Façade of the old Carmelite abbey in Forges-les-Eaux (Avenue Verte, Stage 15)
INTRODUCTION
The City of London skyline has many modernistic buildings (classic route, Stage 1)
Near the northern edge of Western Europe stand two great capital cities, London and Paris, undoubtedly two of the greatest cities in the world. Both were the capitals of worldwide empires that competed for domination around the world. This imperial past is long gone but has resulted in cosmopolitan populations with residents drawn from around the globe. Grand government buildings, important centres of worship and famous museums and galleries line world-renowned streets surrounded by popular parks and gardens. Everything one has, the other claims to match or better: Paris has the Eiffel tower, London has Tower bridge; Paris has Notre Dame cathedral, London St Pauls; Paris has the Louvre, London the National gallery; Paris has the Bois de Boulogne, London the Royal parks; the list is endless.
But these two cities are not isolated phenomena, both being surrounded by attractive countryside with rolling chalk downland, pastoral Wealden valleys and picturesque country towns. There are even two great cathedrals in the land that lies between them: Canterbury (off-route) is the mother church of the Church of England while Amiens (classic route, Stage 7) is the largest cathedral in France. Before the last ice age, which finished about 10,000 years ago, this was one continuous landmass but as the ice melted and sea levels rose the two countries became separated by the English Channel. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 revolutionised travel between London and Paris. Frequent trains now make the journey in less than two and a half hours, speeding between London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord at up to 300kmph. Passengers have a brief glimpse of the countryside of south-east England and northern France as they rush past, but no time to explore or savour it.
A compensating breakthrough came in 2012. To celebrate the London Olympics (the choice of venue for which had resurrected old rivalries with a tight contest between the two cities before London was awarded the games) a waymarked cycle route was inaugurated running from centre to centre. Known as the Avenue Verte (Green Avenue) this 387km route uses suburban streets, quiet country roads and cycle tracks along old railway lines to traverse Surrey and Sussex in England and Haute Normandy in France, crossing the English Channel between Newhaven and Dieppe. The route has become popular with cyclists, particularly French cyclists heading for London.
Avenue Verte follows an old railway line from Neufchâtel-en-Bray to Serqueux (Avenue Verte, Stage 5)
However, the Avenue Verte is not the only way of cycling from London to Paris. Traditionally the busiest route has always been via the short ferry link between Dover and Calais, indeed this is the preferred route for British cyclists riding to Paris, many of them undertaking sponsored rides to raise money for charity. This 490km ride (described here as the classic route) is not waymarked as a through journey, but can be ridden following NCN (National Cycle Network) routes through Kent to the English Channel, and then quiet country roads, canal towpaths and dis-used railways across the Pas de Calais and Picardy to reach the Île de France and Paris.
While some cyclists are happy using just one of these routes to travel between London and Paris, making their return journey by Eurostar train or by plane, others seek to complete the round trip as a circular journey going out by one route and returning by the other. This guide provides detailed out and back descriptions for both routes, enabling cyclists to complete the return ride in either direction. Allowing for a few days sightseeing in the destination city, the 877km round trip makes an ideal two-week journey for average cyclists. There are many places to stay overnight in towns and villages along both routes, while places to eat include country pubs in England and village restaurants in France. Surely this is a more rewarding way to travel between London and Paris than flashing past at 300kph in a Eurostar train!
Background
The first residents of the British Isles arrived from continental Europe before the last ice age when Britain was attached to the mainland. They probably followed the downland chalk ridges that run across what is nowadays northern France and south-east England, keeping above the then thickly forested and swampy valleys of rivers like the Medway and Somme. Traces of these routes still exist and are occasionally followed by the classic route in this guide.
Roman
