Bethune railway station

[JandM]

Hello All,

I'm seeking opinions on Bethune station..  Next Friday I'm due to rendez-vous with a friend at Bethune railway station en route to Aquitaine. I'm driving from Calais and he'll be making his way by train from Ghent, via Lille Flandre. I should arrive at Bethun at about 11:00pm. The train times are not ideal for him so a wait of around a couple of hours is unavoidable, either at Lille for a connecting train, or at Bethune once he gets there. What's the area around Bethune station like? It wouldn't be fair to expect him to hang around for two hours in some bleak and deserted place with nothing to do. If Bethune station at that time of night is unsafe or unpleasant I'll suggest he kills time in Lille and gets a later train to Bethune so we arrive there roughly at the same time. On the other hand, so long as there are some reasonable bars or cafes still open it would make much more sense to finish the journey in plenty of time and wait for me there at Bethune.

What do people reckon's best? Views much appreciated.

James

 

 

 

[Gardengirl]

I don't know Bethune, so can't help on bars etc that will be available for your friend. However, many small places shut down fairly early. There's also always the chance that you'll be delayed en route, making your friend's wait even longer. Maybe you could consider staying at Bethne overnight and making an early start. Your friend would then have a base and amenities while he waits. If that doesn't fit in with your plans, maybe you could find a hotel which has a bar that stays open late-ish, and meet there.

http://www.openroads.com/bethune-hotels.html

[JandM]

Thanks, Gardengirl, for the hotel links. Being the eternal optimist, I hadn't allowed for any kind of delay whatsoever, so your  words of caution are appreciated. We do, however, want to drive overnight so we arrive at our destination (Agen, in 47) early Saturday, so I really hope that there aren't any serious problems.

I've posted the same query in the regional (NW France) part of the forum, but as there doesn't seem to be much activity there I'm not expecting a flood of responses from people with local knowledge. Hope I'm wrong.