How far from Calais to do some hill-walking?

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ToBoldlyGo

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I was thinking of going to Snowdonia but looking at the weather at the moment and I've done quite a bit in Snowdonia I fancy somewhere new. Having done one tour on the continent, if we went Nov/Dec could I have some suggestions as to how far we'd need to go from Calais to get some say 1k+ metres hill or mountain walking?
 
Its a bit like me asking what the chances of finding a decent place to surf are in Leicester..

But honestly, I would , if that was my thing (walking , which it isn't) , that looking around the WW11 stuff around the French/ Belgian border might be worth a look. We blast through there all the time and never get to stop...
 
To find the kind of walking you are looking for you probably need to head off to Ballons des Vosges, great for walking and biking. Peaks over 1000m. If you want pleasant walking then the Belgium German border is very much like the peak district, however, may not provide the challenge you are looking for. I love Vosges, however, a bit further and you can be in the French ski resorts where you will find more challenging walks/climbs

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Phil, there has to be some hill /mountain challenge to it, not *just* either of walking or metres of height! :-)

>Its a bit like me asking what the chances of finding a decent place to surf are in Leicester..

Well, no, not really, I'm looking at the nearest places anywhere on the continent that fulfill my criteria, for example, nothing to do with motorhoming, but I had some lovely walking while staying at Garmisch after visiting Munch.

One of the things that we took from our Calais to St Mere Eglise that France is such a huge place we didn't scratch the surface and as for the whole continent ...

Thanks Keith and Lada I'll have a good look at those, you're right I'm after a bit more than peak district type walking. I'll certainly have a look at Vosges anyway.
 
I've just had a quick look at Ballons des Vosges, ooh yes that looks great and interesting places like Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg to see too.
 
Thanks mitzimad. It's flat though as I recall! :-), isn't it? We use to fly off to maybe one or two city breaks a year and Luxembourg was one of the first places we branched out a bit and went paddle boating in a lake in the countryside.
 
Have a look at the Eiffel national park, Monschau, Gemund etc.
Pretty much on the Belgium, Lux, Dutch borders in Germany ?

( was there a week ago!, didnt do any walking, except to the brauhaus in gemund where they do the biggest schnitzels ever?)

6346A27E-F6C4-4E96-A195-5F4283257252.jpeg

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Might as well do the job properly as it's only 7295km to Everest!
 
marc4242 said:
I've just had a quick look at Ballons des Vosges, ooh yes that looks great and interesting places like Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg to see too.
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The whole area is outstanding and strangely it’s not full of Tourist to a large extent. We love the area and really found it by accident following the Tour de France this year.
Definitely returning next year.
 
Part of the reason for wanting walking country is to get a little bit of fitness and weight loss in before Christmas, not to fill up on schnitzel! :ROFLMAO: I'll look at that for another time though, thanks.

BreweryDave said:
Have a look at the Eiffel national park, Monschau, Gemund etc.
Pretty much on the Belgium, Lux, Dutch borders in Germany ?

( was there a week ago!, didnt do any walking, except to the brauhaus in gemund where they do the biggest schnitzels ever?
Click to expand...
 
Possible but apparently the Hillary step can't be attempted on a full schnitzel ...

BobtheBass said:
Might as well do the job properly as it's only 7295km to Everest!
Click to expand...

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One of my motivations for looking at areas we haven't been to before is that in our Normandy tour we found that time slowed down because so much of what we were doing was new. Yes it's an awkward place to get to from Sussex, I see there's a nice looking van site just by Llanberis but time wise ... The Ardennes sounds good, thanks.

Brains said:
You can get to the Ardennes area in less time than you can get to Snowdonia from Sussex!
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I've just had a look at a few wikipedia entries once I've looked further and found some open overnight places and photos of attractions we just need reasonable sh weather and we'll hopefully be off.

Littlewheels said:
The whole area is outstanding and strangely it’s not full of Tourist to a large extent. We love the area and really found it by accident following the Tour de France this year.
Definitely returning next year.
Click to expand...
 
There are some hiking ideas for the Belgian Ardennes in the link below. We did a bit of walking on the French side recently, around the Maginot Line. It's not the Alps but at the time of year you are planning on going the risk of bad weather including snow rises with altitude. :)

walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk

Recommended walks

Clear your agenda and get your walking boots, on! From walking along rivers or canals, to dreaming of legends past in verdant forests, stopping by cultural sights or picturesque villages or exploring the incredibly rich network of RAVeLs, Wallonia will prove the perfect place to disconnect.
walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk
 
Thanks, I'm beginning to think Vosges is a bit far to go at this time of year given the height I'd prefer to walk at and perhaps the Ardennes would be more realistic.
 
What is with all this bad language on this thread?

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