Tour of Cambrai from the east, from the river port.

Departure from Cambrai river port.

(S/E) Take the bridge over the Escaut, then turn right down the towpath. Take the towpath and follow the river on your left for 4.5 km, heading north-east, passing under the bridge. At the Erre Lock, cross the road and continue as far as the Chapelle des Martyrs in Escaudoeuvres.

(1) Turn right onto the tarmac road, then left onto Rue des Fossés. Continue straight ahead along a country lane, enter the woods, and reach the D630. Carefully cross the road, turning left for 20 metres, to reach a track on the right, just after the sign indicating the end of the built-up area.

(2) Take this and then the^1st track on the right. At the end of the straight, turn left towards the rural bridge-tunnel under the railway line. Once you have crossed the bridge, turn immediately left and walk along the railway line below for 1 km.
Leave the steps leading up to the track on your left and follow the rural track to the right. Go along the hedges for 1 km and, at the road, turn left and quickly reach the top of the climb.

(3) Take the road on the right, towards the "Suez" waste collection centre in Naves. Continue until you come to a crossroads with a telecommunications pylon, then turn right. Walk for about 300 m down the slope, then turn left onto the grassy path. At Petit Cauroir, turn right onto the D942 and then, at the junction with the D113, take the tarmac track on the left between the two roads.

(4) Drive for about 1 km, ignoring the start on either side, then, at the end of the straight, turn right, then left, onto a grassy track at the next junction. Follow this until you reach the D2643, opposite the Candia dairy. Cross the road carefully to the left and, at the roundabout, take the ^1st right onto Rue Albert Mathieu, towards Awoingt, and reach the bridge over the railway line.

(5) Just before the bridge, follow the track to the left, past Awoingt British Cemetery, and continue straight ahead. Go over the road bridge, ignore the track on the right, and continue along the field on your right, reaching its corner.

(6) Turn right onto the grassy track and, at the corner of the wood, go left then, after the 90° bend, fork left again, towards Wambaix. At the next crossroads, turn right, cross the bridge over the railway and come to the D142.

(7) Follow it to the right and in the village of Wambaix, continue on the D142 towards Cambrai. Continue along the Rue du Moulin, leaving the calvary on your left, then go straight on. Ignore the left-hand turn-off (92), and join the next one.

(8) Turn left, cross the D960 carefully and then turn left at the old airfield. Follow the field of photovoltaic panels on your right, then turn right opposite the next one. Continue along the panels on your left. After going around them, continue to the right and reach a road. Turn left and quickly come to a track on the right.

(9) Take this, then turn right onto the next grassy track. At the gravel track, turn right-left and, at the small road, turn right and return to the D76.

(10) Turn left, cross the bridge over the D643 and reach the crossroads immediately after the disused railway line.

(11) Take the track on the left, then fork right. At the first houses in Cambrai, turn right into Rue de Rumilly, then left into Rue de l'Abbaye de Vaucelle and, at the four-way crossroads, left again into Rue de Bonavis.

(12) At the traffic lights, turn left onto the D644, Avenue de Paris, and reach number 124.

(13) At the corner of the house, turn right onto the Sentier des Morts. Go down to the edge of the wood and turn right. Walk for about 200 m, then take the path on the left, through the undergrowth. Pass the airmen's monument on your left and you will come to the D29.

(14) Cross it and go straight ahead into the Bois des Sources along the path. Follow this to the junction with the Rue des Archéologues. Ignore this and turn left into Rue Fernand Legrand, then right into Rue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, to reach the bridge over the Escaut.

(15) Just after the bridge, turn right and follow the Scheldt embankment. Follow the river for around 2 km, then reach the crossroads at canal level.

(16) Turn right along the towpath as far as the lock. Leave the riverbank, cross the bridge over the canal and return to the port car park (S/E).

Lots of country lanes with stones and grass. Mountain bike essential, unsuitable for Gravels.