GPX - 200 mile round trip based on Chimay - Courtesy of the Wallonia tourist office

Wapping

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
78,781
Reaction score
3,534
Location
Wapping, London
This post and thread is expanded on in post #23 by Wapping and post #24, courtesy of Jockser.

Parts of it have become out of date, simply as some of tge websites it linked to have died. I have though managed to save and / or retrieve the key bits, bringing the tourist office’s original route (or close to) back to life in post #41.



d9b78b1a3debc7edbd0e620655d62bfa.gif



115a2011bfe24adb1bdf4f2f1de7b3d8.jpg



With a bit of reading between the lines and imagination, I have created the Wallonia tourist office’s 'Explore the Ardennes' route in BaseCamp in magenta. Alongside it, I have put the Kurviger app’s track version, in red. The Kurviger track was made by just listing the towns from the route in the magazine in an anti-clockwise direction. I have though jazzed-up the track by inserting into it the places named in the text, too.

I have hosted the Garmin friendly file on Dropbox. It should run and display on any device or software that is capable of accepting .gpx data. The file should open straight up in BaseCamp or Mapsource. If it doesn't and all you see is a mass of what looks like code, DO NOT PANIC. In the transfer between a Mac and Dropbox the .gpx file sometimes gains a .txt extension, changing it into a text file. Simply save the file to anywhere convenient, your desktop will do. Rename it by deleting the .txt bit ONLY and leave the rest as ending .gpx All should then be good.

I haven't checked the track or the route yard by yard but they they look near enough OK. If I have sent you down a goat track, write to your MP and complain. The magazine article says the route is 350 kms (218 miles) in 6 hours. My Garmin version is 209 miles (334 kms) in five hours 54 minutes *, which suggests to me it's as correct as it needs to be. By way of simple comparison only, the Kurviger track, is (not surprisingly) similar but different to the magazine route (as it is simply A to B to C to D to E) is 207 miles in five hours 53 minutes.

Richard

* My GPS device shows it as the same mileage but taking less time; that's not surprising.

Here’s a quick snap of the Garmin Kurviger track (green) and my version of the magazine’s route (magenta) with the magazine’s original route below. The magenta line of my version looks pretty similar to the magazine’s route, which is encouraging:

aae581afbdf49dc65ae187dda32f4472.jpg


===============================================================

Edit: I have created a fresh Dropbox file to now include the BaseCamp routes and, separately, the tourist office’s articles as PDF files.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p9s7hzotyeb2ezu/AABfBBJ8DrxL1q5uQiQnDTKOa?dl=0
 
Last edited:
From a previous thread I’d already met the brochure shown above and downloaded it, but it is tricky to read and digest on screen.

Via the tourist office web page I was able to order the very same brochure and it dropped through the letter box this morning.

2019 trip planning can get serious now.

http://walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk/en-gb

[I was completely beaten in my attempts to copy the very long link to the exact page into a single word on this page so just dig]
 

Attachments

  • 678A9A5A-A20B-4D02-BAA2-9223C6C22EA2.jpg
    678A9A5A-A20B-4D02-BAA2-9223C6C22EA2.jpg
    127.1 KB · Views: 729
  • 50E7E46B-24BC-427B-9CEF-0249B1E180D1.jpg
    50E7E46B-24BC-427B-9CEF-0249B1E180D1.jpg
    243.8 KB · Views: 714
  • 4909F259-38AD-48B5-8691-2D89ACD1916C.jpg
    4909F259-38AD-48B5-8691-2D89ACD1916C.jpg
    249.8 KB · Views: 705
I can highly recommend this area. 1 day out/one back then based ourselves at Spa, ate in the Pitstop Cafe (obviously) and had 3 bloody good circular route days. The routes in the above are a very good basis for fun. Some parts get extremely busy on a Sunday, thousands! of bikes, you just have to give up nodding.
 
Good one Wappers ... a beautiful area indeed :thumby:

:beerjug:
 
Well my ferry crossing from Hull to Rotterdam is booked for Tuesday 21st May for a week and going to ride down to the Ardennes..Nothing booked or planned will just see how it goes.Looks a nice place.
 
Well my ferry crossing from Hull to Rotterdam is booked for Tuesday 21st May for a week and going to ride down to the Ardennes..Nothing booked or planned will just see how it goes.Looks a nice place.

You can't go wrong - it's a lovely area full of great scenery and fun roads.
 
Cheers,Is it worthwhile finding a base for a few days there

You can have two to three (probably more) very good days’ riding in the Ardennes.

Where to stay? At 4,300 square miles, it’s a huge area. La Roche-en-Ardenne (in the middle, very roughly) is popular. Bouillon, in the SW corner is, too. Bastogne, again near enough central is a large town with WW2 history, useful as it is on a large crossroads, hence its strategic importance. To the east, Clervaux and Vianden are often recommended, especially if you want to ride into the good roads of Germany. Dinant (NW) or even Spa to the further north.

The ADAC map (see other threads) will give you lots of ideas. Me? I’d always try to find a town / large village with a couple of restaurants, a bar or two, preferably on a crossroads. Unless I wanted to stay somewhere small or large. Some like sleeping in a ditch. You’ll know what you like.
 
That's great pal,I now have a plan
 
Bouillon is lovely, Hotel de la Poste in the town centre is superb, and if it is pissing down you can visit the huge Castle up on the Hill.

Durbury is also very nice, the little "old town" section is charming, a good place to stop with the Mrs in Tow, A bit pricier though.

La Roche another great choice (Yet to find a great Hotel there though) with a small museum (and a Castle of Course) and great choice of places to eat and drink.

Bastogne is excellent for bars, restaurants and has a few museums for Battle of the Bulge - and some tanks laying around (as does La Roche) but is a little off from the good roads adding a bit of time to and from your Hotel to the good roads each day.

A place we really like is Echternach in Luxembourg, our favourite Hotel (Grand Hotel) has recently closed and for a good sized town it has very few places to stay (or at least if your looking on booking websites) but the town is great for food and drink, with a nice bar in the corner of the square near the Monastery.

A typical weekend for us (either with lads or Mrs) is Bouillon - Echternach - Durbury / La Roche en Ardenne taking zig-zag routes on all the great roads between each spot...

… Make sure you ride past Vianden Castle and Esch-sur-Sure if getting into Luxembourg, they both also make great places to stop for coffee / lunch.
 
That's great thanks. As long as the mrs is happy for this trip.
 
That's great thanks. As long as the mrs is happy for this trip.

If she is along then Durbury will be a hit, lots of little chocolate and perfume shops in the pedestrianised back streets, but all my aforementioned places should also be "Wife Friendly" enough assuming you can find suitable accommodation.

Esch-sur-sur would also be a great overnight stop as they light up the Castle on the hill at night, my guess is it must look amazing based on the place looking pretty fantastic by daylight.

Beaufort Castle is also worth a drive-by, the old ruins are only a few quid to wander around and a good way to spend an hour or so off the bike, you can also do a tour of the new "Castle" which is really a much newer country house - but never tried that.

The area is relatively small so it is easy to get from one place to another taking in the scenic roads and have lots of time to stop and poke around a little, or just plonk down in one place and do loops around.
 
0469f5fce39f758b07892f33cdcfe1e6.jpg



Links to third party websites have an annoying habit of vanishing, when the third party does not maintain them.

Via a bit of jiggling around, using nothing but an iPad, I have somehow managed to save the tourist office’s document as a separate PDF, then saved it on Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p9s7hzotyeb2ezu/AABfBBJ8DrxL1q5uQiQnDTKOa?dl=0

The article tells you (in foreign, but with pictures) things to see, as it breaks the circular jaunt into bite sized chunks. The second PDF from the same tourist office has no routes but it has some ideas on things to see and do.
 
Hi
Ardennes is a great place to visit, stayed in bouillon few times at the hotel panorama overlooking the town and river, lovely rooms and great food, stayed at Vianden as well both lovely places with castles, plenty of twisty roads around both areas, have a great trip

Dave :thumby:
 
Thanks everyone for the info.Looking forward to getting there.Important first trip with the mrs as its a long time since she has been off on a bike for a week.Not a long way to get there and plenty to do.
 
Got everything on bike which is a good start
 

Attachments

  • 20190521_091650.jpg
    20190521_091650.jpg
    262.6 KB · Views: 227


Back
Top Bottom