French Coast to Coast + Canal du Midi cycle trip 2024. A great trip cycling 631 km!
10th to the 24th of May 2024 by Vic Ient
We cycled coast to coast starting in Royan on the Atlantic coast (Bay of Biscay), firstly along the Gironde, then the Garonne and then the Canal du Midi to Béziers and the river Orb to the Mediterranean coast!
This was a great trip – we cycled 631 km (392 miles). Over 400 miles if you include the trip we did further east in Languedoc near Nimes in order to visit the amazing Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard. Click: Photos trip details HERE.
Pond du Gard – Roman Aqueduct
Once we had arrived at Royan the task was relatively simple, – cycling 400 miles and enjoying visiting great places like the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne.
The hard work in setting up this trip was arranging the logistics and booking tickets for the train journeys across France to and from St Malo. Arranging the crossing was really a piece of cake and getting to and from Portsmouth was no problem.
The real problem was travelling by train with bicycles that will ‘fully assembled’. If we had bicycles which could be disassembled the journey would be relatively simple but electric bikes are not easy to disassemble and they don’t fit into a box or bag of a maximum size of 130 cm x 90 cm. Therefore, we had to find railway routes which allowed us to take our bikes on and off just in the same way as you would on local trains here in Sussex. The difference is we were covering much longer distances. From St Malo to the start of our journey was about 400 km (250 miles). However, with my growing knowledge of the French railway system I was able to achieve this, and we had the added benefit of staying overnight at the atmospheric old town in Nantes and at La Rochelle which is a beautiful ancient port on the west coast of France on our route.
A great trip which took us to Paris, the Pyrenees, Perpignan, Figueres (Spain) and the Dalí Museum, Béziers near the Mediterranean coast, Nimes with its Roman colosseum and through the through the beautiful hills of Languedoc and the Massif Central.
Including a night train from Paris to Latour-de-Carol in the snow-clad Pyrenees!
23rd February to 1st March 2024
A great trip which took us to Paris, the Pyrenees, Perpignan, Figueres (Spain) and the Dalí Museum, Béziers near the Mediterranean coast, Nimes with its Roman colosseum and through the beautiful hills of Languedoc and the Massif Central.
We journeyed over 2000 miles (3000 km) by train through France and Spain, (incl 250 miles on cross Channel journeys and in England).
After an evening meal at the Bistrot de la Gare near the Gare du Lyon we boarded an overnight train with the Intercités de Nuit from Gare d’Austerlitz, in Paris departing at 9:40 pm. By just after 10am the next day we were about 850 km south in the Pyrenees! The night train was a bit of a letdown as the sleeping compartments were really no more than cushettes with a light duvet. If we had booked earlier enough we could have been travelling for about €30 but we left it too late and had to pay a lot more. However, I’m very grateful to the English speaking service of SNCF for actually getting us on to the train because of its popularity. I had forgotten that in February the Pyrenees is quite popular for skiing and the train would be quite full. Sleeping cars consist of 6 berth for 2nd class and 4 berth for 1st class. The other dissapointment was that the buffet car had been disconnected at Toulouse, so no morning coffee and croissant for us! Thankfully we were able to have our petit dejeuner at the station café in Latour-de-Carol. Despite these inconveniences the journey we arrived on time in the heart of the beautiful Pyrenean snow-topped mountains, bathed in sunshine!
Click HERE for the photos of the journey including the Pyrenees
Below are some photos of special interest: (click the heading of each section for photos and or the link in the text for more information)
The Ligne de Cerdagne, usually referred to as Le Petit Train Jaune, (the Yellow Train) is a 1m gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees.
I had miscalculated things in my researches as I thought the Little Yellow Train was operating but when we got to Latour-de-Carol I found it was closed for winter maintenance. However there was a silver lining. We were soon able to board a bus costing only €1 which would take us on a road parallel to the train route so we could see all the many amazing railway viaducts cut into the mountainside. When we arrived at Villefranche-de-Conflent we were able to see these wonderful little trains all sitting in sideings ready for use in the spring and summer. Our onway train journey to Perpignan was also only €1 !!
This heavily fortified village in the Pyrénées-Orientales is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When the territory was ceded to the French in the 17th C the town became an important French defence against possible Spanish incursions. We had a great lunch in a restaurant which was had very thick stone walls. Atmospheric and very welcoming!
This was the highlight of our trip! – I was blown away by the number of artistic pieces, their variety and quality! See the special page for photos on the link as above.
Through the beautiful hills of the Mediterranean in the Languedoc region to the Massif Central leaving behind small stations and villages with red terracotta roofed houses and far ranging views into the hills, some with beautiful limestone escarpments and fast flowing rivers in gorges lined by trees below us. In the far distance I even caught sight of the snowy tops of the Massif Central mountains.
Great cycling trips and days out including Coast to Coast in France along the Canal du Midi!
Total distance covered in 2024 was = 2240 km (1392 miles) since collected my new 800W Giant Explorer electric bicycle in May. This has a fantatic range – mile for mile much better than my 2019 500W Giant Explorer.
Some great trips to France and some wonderful days out in Sussex. I also managed to combine cycling with trips to Lyme Regis which were wonderful in the beautiful autumn days. These trips don’t include the Monday morning bike rides with John’s group here in Lewes. Unfortunately I didn’t have my Garmin for the first four months of the year so I don’t know what distances I covered in this period.
Canal du Midi – Coast to Coast Cycle trip
Johm, Martin, Jon & Vic at the beging of the Coast to Coast cycle trip at Royan, at the mouth of the river Gironde
The Coast To Coast cycling distance was 631 km (392 miles)
Edward, Adrian & William on the quayside opposite the Restaurant Le Cap, on the Rue du Port, Barneville-Carteret on the west coast of the Cherbourg peninsula, France
Vic Ient 