Hersin-Coupigny: Hiking, Leisure and Heritage

Hersin-Coupigny offers a range of options for a stay: places to walk in green surroundings, hiking trails, leisure facilities and local heritage. When planning, you can decide whether you are looking for a marked hiking route, outdoor activities or an insight into the history of the town.

Hiking Trails and Outdoor Leisure

The Base de Loisirs de l’ex-fosse n°2 dite « Dupont » offers places to walk in green surroundings. If you prefer to follow a described route, the Boucle Verte d’Hersin is a 9.4-kilometre hiking route classified as moderate and marked by FFRandonnée. It starts at Place de la Liberté, opposite the church, and is marked in yellow. The tourist office provides GPX and KML files for navigation.

A longer route is the Circuit des anciens cavaliers des Houillères: it is 12 kilometres long, with a stated duration of three hours. The path follows former colliery railway lines that have been converted into soft, mulch-covered trails. Before setting out, check the current condition of the route locally. The Boucle Verte is shorter at 9.4 kilometres; its difficulty is listed as moderate, while a time estimate is provided for the Circuit.

Hiking trails are also a key feature of Mont de Coupigny: the site is in the Bois de Verdrel, at a crossroads of hiking trails. The area is said to have received an award under the Trame verte – Trame bleue programme from the Regional Council and the European Union. Mont de Coupigny has received an award under the Trame verte – Trame bleue programme from the Regional Council and the European Union.

The Étangs de « La Claire Fontaine » bring together several leisure activities in one place. These include woodland ponds, hiking trails, a pond for coarse fishing and four trout ponds. You can therefore combine a visit with hiking or fishing; the information clearly distinguishes between the one coarse-fishing pond and the four trout ponds.

For other forms of exercise, Les Craies Blanches has an area for mountain biking, inline skating and skateboarding. These facilities complement the hiking routes with activities in a designated area. Which one suits your stay depends on whether you prefer to explore on foot or take part in one of the three sports listed.

Heritage and Local History

The history of Hersin-Coupigny was also shaped by the rise of the coal industry. The town grew considerably as a result between 1854 and 1962. One way to explore its history is through the Comité Historique d’Hersin-Coupigny: its heritage tours include the Church of Saint-Martin and the area’s centuries-old farmsteads.

The Comité offers heritage discovery tours for businesses, local authorities, associations and private individuals. These visits take place by appointment. If you would like to include the tours in your plans, arranging an appointment is therefore an important step. The tours offer a different focus from the independently described hiking routes: here, the emphasis is on selected buildings and farmsteads.

Another notable building is the Wallart-Delavalle Chapel. It was built in 1836 from brick on a layered sandstone base. The date and building materials give the structure a clearly defined historical profile: the brickwork stands on a base of layered sandstone.

Planning Your Stay

Hersin-Coupigny has two direct access roads to the RD 301, also known as the « Rocade Minière ». The road name is a practical landmark for planning your journey. Once there, you can choose what to focus on: the Boucle Verte and the Circuit differ in length, stated difficulty and available time estimate; the Étangs combine hiking trails with fishing ponds; and the heritage tours require an appointment in advance. This makes it easy to plan your stay around the activities you actually want to do.

Discover more destinations: Humeroeuille, Coulogne, Gauchin-Verloingt, Arques, Auxi-Le-Château, Lorgies, Westrehem, Écourt-Saint-Quentin

For the broader travel overview: Pas-De-Calais.