I previously rode to Paris five years ago and, on that occasion, split the journey over three days with hotel stays in Dieppe and Gournay-en-Bray. Take a look at my previous suggestions, especially if you’re looking for a more leisurely pace.
However, a few things have changed since 2008, notably with regards development of the signposted route, and I also have some additional tips in case you’re trying to complete the journey more quickly.
Route tips for English leg
- Sustrans have this year published the first edition of their official Avenue Verte guide. This describes the entire family-friendly route from London to Paris, although it prefers quiet roads over directness and consequently is suggested to take around a week to ride.
- If you’re looking for a quicker and shorter ride, you’ll want to take shortcuts (some of which I describe below), but the official guide is still £12.95 well spent, as the designated route is a good source of inspiration and the guidebook also references accommodation options, things to see and do and other tips.
- Within Greater London, the official Avenue Verte route encompasses Cycle Superhighway 8 (to Battersea Park) and then London Cycle Network (LCN) routes 5 (to Clapham Common) and 3 (to Earlsfield), before joining National Cycle Network (NCN) route 20, crossing the M25 just east of its junction with the M23.
- We started from Parliament Square (whereas the official route begins at the London Eye) and we diverted from it at Clapham Common to take faster (albeit busier) roads through Streatham, Croydon and Purley, rejoining the Avenue Verte at Coulsdon. Reviewing the data afterwards, it looks like these faster roads only saved us about five minutes (and fewer than 500 metres) from the official route, so you may wish to stick with the Avenue Verte through the London suburbs.
- We also cut a corner from the official route in Crawley, saving about ten minutes and 2.5km.
- Shortly after that, at Crawley Down, we definitively broke away from the UK section of Avenue Verte in favour of a direct route to Newhaven, shaving over two hours and 40km from the journey. This changed the nature of the route significantly, bypassing the Forest Way and Cuckoo Trail cycle paths as well as numerous quaint English villages in favour of quiet country lanes.
- We got in to a bit of difficulty along the River Ouse though, in an effort to avoid the A275 through Offham, where the “bike-friendly” Google suggestion took us down a farm track and through countless kissing gates, so be careful with your DIY navigation.
- The Avenue Verte route is 159km long in England, but we cycled only 114km to reach Newhaven the more direct way.
Route tips for French leg
- In France, the official Avenue Verte route works very well all the way up to Gournay-en-Bray, a distance of 82km which took us 6.5 hours (with stops).
- From there, the route splits in to a western option (via Gisors) and an eastern one (via Beauvais).
- The two options rejoin in St Germain, just south of Cergy, to head south along the banks of the Oise river until it flows into the Seine.
- The western option is 120km whereas the eastern one is 184km. Although less idyllic, going down the middle in between both options can total as little as 60km.
- There are a further 37km to Paris after the join, for a total French distance of 239km the western way and 303km the eastern way.
- We followed Donald Hirsch‘s more direct route, bringing the total French distance down to 204km (we cycled 211km after some slight diversions and minor errors).
- Beware the closing time of the Parc de Saint-Cloud (21:00 in September but this varies throughout the year), and plan an alternative route if you’re going to be reaching there after nightfall.
- If you’re not so pressed for time, consider an overnight stay in Neufchâtel-en-Bray, Forges-les-Eaux or Gournay-en-Bray. I stayed in the latter on this ride five years ago.
Food and dining tips
- If you’re not under time pressure, seek out a pub in Surrey for your first meal, but look it up before you start as there are surprisingly few on the route itself so you’ll likely need to divert a little. However if you’re pressed for time, carry a packed lunch from London; this will most likely be more nutritious than our McDonalds and also gives you flexibility to stop on a picturesque part of the ride.
- If you have time to spare in Newhaven before your ferry, the Hope Inn offers good food at a decent price, and is under ten minutes by bike from the ferry terminal (cycle along the west riverside of the River Ouse to reach it before backtracking for the terminal on the east side).
- A large Sainsbury’s supermarket is located about five minutes from both the ferry terminal and the Hope Inn. Unless you’re stopping in Dieppe the next day, buy breakfast and other supplies here as there won’t be anything open for hours when you get to France, especially on a Sunday.
- If you’re riding out of Dieppe later in the day, the old station of Nesle St Saire, adjacent to the Avenue Verte (which itself was previously a railway), has been redeveloped in to a lovely restaurant called Au Quai Gourmand. This is the first (of very few) establishments that you’ll pass on the cycle path and it’s about 40km from Dieppe.
- The next opportunity is almost 40km later, when you reach the small town of Gournay-en-Bray. That’s where we stopped at a café, as it was 8:30 by the time we reached there from the port.
Transport tips
- The Newhaven to Dieppe route is operated by DFDS. The crossing takes about four hours and they sail every twelve hours, departing Newhaven at 11:00 (arrives 17:00) and 23:00 (arrives 5:00). If you’re trying to complete the ride as quickly as possible, you’ll likely want to take the night sailing to maximise riding time in daylight.
- Cabins are optional and we booked one this time. It was unclear to us, but the booking price is per cabin (not per bed) and each one has four beds.
- You can only put one vehicle (including bikes) on each online booking, so you’ll need to call up and add additional bikes to the booking if you’re sharing cabins with other cyclists.
- There was only one power socket (standard French type) in our four berth cabin so bring a serious multiplug (or some power banks) to charge up all your devices.
- The easiest way back from Paris is on the Eurostar, although they do make it somewhat less easy for your bike. You’ll need to use their courier company, EuroDespatch, and drop your bikes off earlier in the day if you want them to reach London on the same day as you. They charge £25 per bike but bear in mind that their office hours to not align with the train services, so check opening times beforehand and note that you may not be able to collect your bike on the same day if travelling on evening services.
