Adventure Awaits – Eurovelo Route 6 – Nantes to Basel

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Doing more research into the possible route of the cycling expedition, the Eurovelo range of cycling routes across Europe has caught my eye.  The original thought courtesy of Alan was to cycle either the Rhine or the Danube, and I’ve just discovered the Eurovelo Route 6 starts on the West coast of France and follows the Loire, Central Canals, Doube, and the Danube right across Europe.  It’s some 2,500 miles in all, so far more than needed for this particular adventure, but might split nicely into 2 parts.  The part through France looks very enjoyable – even if the cycling isn’t up to much you know your going to have some excellent cheese and wine along the way!  The map below shows the approximate route (NOTE: This is not the cycle route, just for planning purposes) between where the Loire river spills into the Atlantic near to Nantes, across France ending where you cross into Switzerland at Basel.

The route as marked is only in the region of 700 miles, so not the 1,000 miles that I’d originally set my sights on, but there may well be plenty of options to deviate from the route to take in worthwhile sights and places of interest, and of course there is getting there and back.  Cycling from home via the ferry crossing between Weymouth and St. Malo would add about 180 miles, and the return could be done via SNCF and Eurotunnel.  I’m sure in principle there would be somewhere pretty close to 1,000 miles involved.  The next issue would be the duration of the journey, where to find accommodation and what places of interest might be along the route.

Also just noticed that the ‘voies verte‘ or ‘greenways’ may well provide a useful link between St Malo and St Nazaire