Good driving roads in or near BE/NL ?

Good driving roads in or near BE/NL ?

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Discussion

atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
Just some looking for some suggestions of routes in the Ardennes, Luxembourg or Western Germany that aren't too well known but are good with nice tarmac. Northern Flanders and the Netherlands I've kind-of disregarded simply because they're a bit flat, but perhaps there are still good roads in the lowlands too ? any and all suggestions welcome.

Are there any sites/wikis here dedicated to this sort of thing ? (I've seen a few but they all include Alpine driving, and I want something closer..)

--
Alex

allen l

443 posts

185 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
Depends on the car I guess. Lot's of B-roads, although still no fun compared to what I've driven in UK, France, etc.
It's fun in my Caterham, but a bit dull when I'm in the BMW or the Subaru. N roads and highways are plane boring.


HvdWeerden

1,736 posts

207 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
check this site :

http://gpstracks.nl/ov-motor-duitsland.php

You can also choose Belgium or France (Click "Auto & Motorroutes")

sunbeam alpine

7,078 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
There are a lot of very nice roads in Flanders. The area around Ieper (Ypres) - the WW I battlefields etc. offers a lot of interesting possibilities. Oudenaarde and it's surrounding area (also known as the Flemish Ardennes) is also very good.

I have an agricultural contracting business here, and spend almost every working day on small roads - it's amazing what you can find, even for me, and I know the area reasonably well.

One caveat is that the roads are more suited to gentle tourist cruising than spirited driving. The quality of the road surface can be very variable, and they're low on the list of priorities for repair. We tend to potter about in classic cars, so speed isn't really an issue. I wouldn't want to be flying along in a very low car on these roads.
I've managed to ground out our Alfa Spider a few times - luckily it has good sump protection - and that's not particularly low.

I'm a member of a few classic car clubs, and have quite a few road books from the region. If you let me know which area you're looking at, I could make some suggestions. Or if you're passing through, and want to meet for a beer.

allen l

443 posts

185 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
Forgot to say, I was referring to Holland.

atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
Thanks for the offer Sunbeam, and also thanks for the GPS tracks site HvdWeerden.. they look good in googleearth!

Found a few suggestions here too: http://www.roadracers.co.uk/tr-ardennes.htm


atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Thursday 17th February 2011
quotequote all
Turns out the two-wheeler boys are two steps ahead:

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/sh...

JazzyO

1,125 posts

188 months

Sunday 20th February 2011
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allen l said:
Forgot to say, I was referring to Holland.
There are some nice roads but not that many, that's certainly true. Try the Posbank area, near Rhenen in the East of Holland. Then there are nice roads in Limburg. The back roads in Brabant (Tiel and environs) are very nice, following the rivers and through the woodlands.

More centrally to the country, I always like the Utrechtse Heuvelrug: beautiful forests and nice small towns, and some lovely castles here and there. Had some fun there with a 458 Italia, what a car. I take foreigners for a drive often and they are always pleasantly surprised, but you can't compare it driving the Stelvio of course.

Belgium has fantastic roads in the Ardennes, truly spectacular driving. The roads north of Bouillon are great and in good condition generally.


Onno

atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Sunday 20th February 2011
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Thumbs up for Bouillon - I went down to 'check it out' on Saturday !

G350

382 posts

170 months

Saturday 5th March 2011
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I drove through Bouillon two years ago in my Spitfire on the way from UK to Greece. Lovely roads round there, as Onno says (also to west).

I'm a bit late to this but I thought I'd add that I have found the maps on www.viamichelin.com are useful as they show scenic roads (as a green highlight) when you are sufficiently zoomed in. Also you can switch on the Michelin Green Guide (Tourism button) which reveals interesting sights to visit in the area (star rated).

It is my #1 road trip planning website.

atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Sunday 27th March 2011
quotequote all
Eifel is also excellent. Better roads than the Ardennes, and many more hairpins. Plenty of 102/race fuel to be had too.

Less than an hour from the ring, too.

JazzyO

1,125 posts

188 months

Monday 28th March 2011
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Absolutely, Eifel is ace.

I could live in Europe.... biggrinbiggrin


Onno

atlex

Original Poster:

110 posts

166 months

Friday 1st April 2011
quotequote all
This may be of interest, pilfered from a biker mag - Translation is "Ardennes Driving Roads" - has handy maps, too.

http://web.internationalconspiracy.org/~lysander/m...


monamimate

838 posts

149 months

Tuesday 11th December 2012
quotequote all
JazzyO said:
Absolutely, Eifel is ace.

I could live in Europe.... biggrinbiggrin


Onno
Er... you do. wink