Hirson (Blangy) / Etréaupont
After visiting La Rotonde and La Tour Florentine (major 1920s railway-related constructions), Europe’s largest stretch of bocage, or hedgerow-divided fields, provides a peace setting as you cycle through the Thiérache area, hawthorn hedges, apple orchards and babbling brooks marking the way. The riverside fields are sometimes flooded by the unruly Oise. Ohis Viaduct, with its giant arches stepping over the river, is the most striking feat of engineering on this surprising Axe Vert de la Thiérache.
Gradients and elevation
Slope breakdown
Road types
- Cycle path
- Routes reserved for cyclists and pedestrians (greenways, cycle tracks, towpaths), separated from cars for maximum safety.
- Shared road
- Quiet minor roads with little traffic (unless otherwise stated in the stage details). Shared with cars (stay alert).
- Not specified
- Data unavailable or being assessed. Please refer to the detailed stage description.
- Provisional
- Section on a road or cycle path awaiting better-quality facilities (see stage details).
Surface
- Smooth
- Asphalt, tarmac or smooth concrete. Optimal comfort.
- Rough
- Fine gravel, compacted stabilised surface or worn tarmac. Less comfortable, vibrations possible.
- Natural
- Dirt, grass, roots or stones. Under 5%: short sections with little impact. Higher percentage: route suited to mountain or gravel bikes only.
- Not specified
- Data unavailable or being assessed. Please refer to the detailed stage description.
The route
Following the Axe Vert de la Thiérache greenway, with no particular difficulties along the way.
Signposted EV3.
Surfacing smooth: compacted tracks or asphalt.
Link
From Hirson train station, a former railway track heading east has been transformed into a cycle path leading to the 12th-century Benedictine Abbey of St Michael, on the edge of the forest 5km away.
Trains
- Hirson train station
Don't miss
- Saint-Michel and Hirson Forests
- Domaine de Blangy (with its waterfall in a strait, its outdoor recreation centre and its campsite)
- Tour Florentine and Rotonde Ferroviaire, impressive 1920s constructions connected to the marshalling yard built at Hirson train station
- Ohis, a charming village with a viaduct (formerly on the line Hirson, Guise, Busigny)
- Wimy fortified church
- Musée la Casemate at Wimy, a museum on the two World Wars
- Conserverie d’Ornelle (selling local produce)
