Channel Tour

Channel Tour

Opened in 2013, the Tour of the Channel is a cycling tour and horseback between Britain and France.

ENGLISH TRACT
Between Devon and Dorset: approximately 267 km.
The English section of the Channel Tour starts in Plymouth, a major commercial and tourist port on the south shore of the island. You pedal on the hills and the green woods of England mostly on the disused railroad track.

About 63 km after the departure you reach the highest point of the whole tour: the ruins of the castle of Okehampton.
Another notable locality is Exeter, one of the few places in England where you can still admire the traces of Roman domination.

Sheep_in_Maiden_Castle Exeter_Cathedral_Devon Brentor_Church Maiden_Castle_Dorset

A few miles later, at the height of Exmouth, you enter in the territory of the Jurassic Coast. They are a series of gentle hills near the sea dating back to the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The coast has been declared a World Heritage Site.

At Raymond’s Hill leaves Devon County to enter in the Dorset. A long stretch in this area is dominated by the monument to Thomas Hardy, English commander who defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Later, you will find the particular Maiden Castle Fortress and the Castle of Corfe Castle.

The town of Poole is the last of the English section, from here you must take the ferry to France.

FRENCH TRACT
Between Brittany and Normandy: approximately 647 km.
Leaving behind the Cherbourg, we are quickly forwarded to the Lower Normandy countryside.
You always pedal on secondary roads or “green paths” from ex-railroad tracks.

The scenery is that of the Regional Nature Park des Marais du Cotentin, shelter of many birds.
Moreover, it’s impossible to forget the landing of the Allies in Normandy, which happened in this territory in 1944. Near Carentan, about 70 km after departure, there is a museum that tells the story.

Bricquebec Abbaye-Blanche_de_Mortain Bretagne_Beauport_Abbaye Mont_Saint_Michel

A few miles further goes on the Vire canal leading to Saint-Lô, one of the most important centers in the region.The route reaches the highest point of the French stretch, about 300 m / s, near the town of Mortain.

Turning west, you start pedaling along the Veloscénie to Mont Saint Michel, about 270 km from the start. Therefore, always keeping the coast along the port city of Saint Malo, Beauport Abbey and the Cote de Granit Rose area.
The French section of the Tour of the Channel ends at Roscoff.