Driving roads near Dover.

[PJH1987]

Hello all,

I am currently looking around to go driving in the UK. The idea would be to put together a small roadtrip that takes only one day and covers a maximum of 6 hours of driving. Start and endpoint would be Dover, as we are coming over to visit from the land of potholes and speedcameras (Belgium) by boat.

So, what do I need? Driving roads of course! The twisty bits, roads that make me feel 27 years old again, pieces of tarmac that you take a picture of and slap on your wall due to being overly awesome, ....

I have already searched the forum and found a lot of topics about the ferry itself, but nothing about the roads in the vicinity of the port itself. I have also searched the internet and only managed to find this: http://www.greatestdrivingroads.com/great_roads/A2...
Although it looks good, there surely must be more of where that came from. I was thinking Exmoor, but that is just too far away from dover for a one-day trip

What do I like:
- Open space
- Views
- Bends
- Turns
- Twisty sections
- Impressive landscapes

What do I dislike:
- Caravans
- Towns
- Speedcameras
- Speedbumps
- More speedbumps
- Motorways
- Congestion

Also important: this trip should take place end of September/early October, after al the caravans have been put to their well-deserved rest after a busy summer of causing agony to everyone else. It wil be a sunday normally.

Can you please help me? I would really appreciate it. I visited scotland last year due to extensive reading in the Highlands thread, I hope we can create something similar for this area, al be it a miniature version of that awesome thread.

Kind regards and many thanks,
PJ

[dcb]

PJH1987 said:

Hello all,

I am currently looking around to go driving in the UK. The idea would be to put together a small roadtrip that takes only one day and covers a maximum of 6 hours of driving. Start and endpoint would be Dover, as we are coming over to visit from the land of potholes and speedcameras (Belgium) by boat.

So, what do I need? Driving roads of course! The twisty bits, roads that make me feel 27 years old again, pieces of tarmac that you take a picture of and slap on your wall due to being overly awesome, ....

There's not much of that in SE England.

Best bet might be to follow the North Downs from Dover, along Pilgrim's way to Rochester
and then onto Redhill and Farnham. Some nice hilly bits with some scenic views.

Failing that South Downs from Eastbourne to Winchester can be moderately amusing.

Either way, if you are used to potholes, speed cameras and woeful average
driving standards, you'll have no trouble adapting to SE England.

[s p a c e m a n]

The A259 to Hastings is a good run if a little flat. Love the bit around Camber sands as there's little shrubbery to block sightlines and there's a pretty little twisty bit with some old wall with a hole in it at Winchelsea.

[PJH1987]

Some great tips here already. Looks like I will have to make a choice to go upward from Dover towards Rochester, or choose to go westbound and hope to cover Southdowns if it is possible in one day.

This seems satisfactory:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.1456295,1.0012096,...

Starting to find some roads that look very good on streetview. If any of you happen to know anything, google maps links or further tips about where to go are greatly appreciated

[jaipaul]

https://goo.gl/maps/oKP41HPhqtC2

https://goo.gl/maps/qnNj6eENP7T2

The bits around Camber and Hastings are quite a bit of fun

[PJH1987]

Thanks very much for that

[dcb]

jaipaul said:

https://goo.gl/maps/oKP41HPhqtC2

https://goo.gl/maps/qnNj6eENP7T2

The bits around Camber and Hastings are quite a bit of fun

Possibly, but hopefully your routes don't show the A21 as "fun".

The northern end of it is boring dual c/w, some roadworks
in the middle section and the southern end is IMHO a boring
40 mph trundle in heavy traffic on single c/w.

Getting from Sevenoaks to Hastings is tedious and there's only
Hastings, which could never be confused with a tourist destination,
when you get there.

[Red Devil]

PJH1987 said:

Some great tips here already. Looks like I will have to make a choice to go upward from Dover towards Rochester, or choose to go westbound and hope to cover Southdowns if it is possible in one day.

West is best.

PJH1987 said:

So, what do I need? Driving roads of course! The twisty bits, roads that make me feel 27 years old again, pieces of tarmac that you take a picture of and slap on your wall due to being overly awesome, ....

What do I like:
- Open space
- Views
- Bends
- Turns
- Twisty sections
- Impressive landscapes

Can you please help me? I would really appreciate it.

OK, try:

Out - https://goo.gl/maps/3i39FR8BLDU2
Back - https://goo.gl/maps/nU4G6N6oHUJ2

I think this road ticks all of your boxes.
https://goo.gl/maps/Q86sKiu1uTS2
Do it clockwise per the map links.

North Downs viewpoint here.
https://goo.gl/maps/nU4G6N6oHUJ2

[vikingaero]

Lived in Kent nearly all my life and there aren't really many driving roads around! Most that are driving roads are too short and end up in towns and villages.

All I can think of at the moment is the B2068 Stone Street from North to South (one or two speed cameras) and the B2244 from Hawkhurst to Seddlescombe which has 3 pinch points (2 narrow bridges and a viaduct bridge). Other than that driving is better in Sussex.

[egor110]

How long are you visiting for?

Forget about dover the south east and get to Wales then down to Exmoor.

Book up b&b's so you only have to drive 5-6 hours to the final stop and you'll have a awesome time.

[dcb]

egor110 said:

How long are you visiting for?

Forget about dover the south east and get to Wales then down to Exmoor.

I'm not 100% sure, but the original poster does say this:

"a small roadtrip that takes only one day"

egor110 said:

Book up b&b's so you only have to drive 5-6 hours to the final stop and you'll have a awesome time.

In other words, get deeper into the hell that is driving in the UK on the off chance
that something even further away from Dover might be quite nice.

Sounds like a risky manouver to me.

I'd stick with the best that Kent / Sussex / Surrey have got to offer and keep to that.

[egor110]

dcb said:

egor110 said:

How long are you visiting for?

Forget about dover the south east and get to Wales then down to Exmoor.

I'm not 100% sure, but the original poster does say this:

"a small roadtrip that takes only one day"

egor110 said:

Book up b&b's so you only have to drive 5-6 hours to the final stop and you'll have a awesome time.

In other words, get deeper into the hell that is driving in the UK on the off chance
that something even further away from Dover might be quite nice.

Sounds like a risky manouver to me.

I'd stick with the best that Kent / Sussex / Surrey have got to offer and keep to that.

Have a look on driving roads thread for wales/exmoor then come back re finding something that might be nice.

It's going to be hands down better and worth the extra drive to get there if it's a possible.

[davepoth]

Catch an overnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Hull and then you're an hour and a half away from the Dales, the Moors or the Peaks, all of which are full of decent driving roads.

[Red Devil]

vikingaero said:

Lived in Kent nearly all my life and there aren't really many driving roads around!

I grew up in East Sussex, passed my test there and spent the next decade wearing out its tarmac. I now have lived in Kent for over thirty five, so I beg to differ. It depends on your definition of driving roads (see below).

vikingaero said:

Most that are driving roads are too short and end up in towns and villages.

Villages are a fact of life in both Kent & East Sussex. However, with careful route planning they are merely brief links between the good bits. The mileage is there if you know where to look for it.

vikingaero said:

All I can think of at the moment is the B2068 Stone Street from North to South (one or two speed cameras) and the B2244 from Hawkhurst to Seddlescombe which has 3 pinch points (2 narrow bridges and a viaduct bridge)

Both of these are very quick with long straight stretches, especially Stone Street which has only a couple of bends worth talking about between Street End and Farthing Common before you drop down the hill. However, twisties can be just as satisfying, in fact imo even more so as it requires more driver input. I can think of several roads which I would consider more involving than those two.

Last weekend, along with some friends, I did nearly 100 miles (including the B2244) of which ~80% was on the fun stuff. The problem with both Kent and Sussex is that they are so heavily populated. It means you have pick your time carefully in order to stand a chance of avoiding traffic.

vikingaero said:

Other than that driving is better in Sussex.

That has not been my experience. Kent has more B road and unclassified mileage and much of the latter in East Sussex is too narrow and/or lacks centre white line markings. Also, by comparison, East Sussex is now littered with 40/50mph speed limits. Creating a route wholly within that county of similar length to last weekend's would be quite a lot more difficult (trust me, I have tried it!).

[PJH1987]

Again some good information here, really appreciate it.

Sadly, it has to be a one-day trip. If I would be organising this for myself, I would probably head back to scotland as I did last year, passing through wales. But it simply isn't possible

I really need to go back, it was simply amazing beyond belief. Belgium is so ugly and boring, I really didn't know it could feel so good to be so alone in this world.



The group that will be going on the trip for which I started this thread isn't the hardcore driving type. They want something that is more 'leasure' oriented, but they do want to have the feeling that they are doing something that they don't do every weekend (hence: the boat and a different country). So one day is more than enough for most. If it was for me to decide, the trip would be over 5000 miles

[PJH1987]

Status update: it's starting to shape up nicely. I also like Ditchling based on the streetview images, some nice scenery there.

Red Devil said:

OK, try:

Out - https://goo.gl/maps/3i39FR8BLDU2
Back - https://goo.gl/maps/nU4G6N6oHUJ2

I think this road ticks all of your boxes.
https://goo.gl/maps/Q86sKiu1uTS2
Do it clockwise per the map links.

North Downs viewpoint here.
https://goo.gl/maps/nU4G6N6oHUJ2

I noticed your links for 'back' and 'northdowns viewpoint' are the same. If you find the time, could you please make the suggestion about the out part? Your post was a very good help up until now and I'm curious about the missing part

Great job, really appreciate it. The others as well of course

[Red Devil]

Oooops! Brain fade...

I have made a couple of tweaks to the outward route.
Take the A20 out of Dover. At Newingreen stay on the A20.
Then left at the traffic lights onto the B2067 (avoiding Lympne).
Out - https://goo.gl/maps/ugXebh3Ngh12
Back - https://goo.gl/maps/8AqCZjhJVJt

Re journey times, bear in mind you will need to allow extra for photo ops and lunch.

Ditchling Beacon is a viable alternative to Beachy Head.
There is a car park at the top but it can get busy at times.
The panoramic view in good weather is superb.
https://goo.gl/maps/cWy6PnDk5rx

Out - https://goo.gl/maps/ZwKKSRe1k6z
Back - https://goo.gl/maps/3AJSDJwXtJv

Btw, I'm guessing that's your Boxster in the pic at Kylesku bridge.
If so and you pick Ditchling, there will be exhaust appreciation tunnels both ways.
Out: here - https://goo.gl/maps/WUZxnNzAzTB2
Back: here - https://goo.gl/maps/UL64uPvB8NN2

[mattwhite709]

vikingaero said:

All I can think of at the moment is the B2068 Stone Street from North to South (one or two speed cameras) and the B2244 from Hawkhurst to Seddlescombe which has 3 pinch points (2 narrow bridges and a viaduct bridge)

Both of these are very quick with long straight stretches, especially Stone Street which has only a couple of bends worth talking about between Street End and Farthing Common before you drop down the hill. However, twisties can be just as satisfying, in fact imo even more so as it requires more driver input. I can think of several roads which I would consider more involving than those two.

Last weekend, along with some friends, I did nearly 100 miles (including the B2244) of which ~80% was on the fun stuff. The problem with both Kent and Sussex is that they are so heavily populated. It means you have pick your time carefully in order to stand a chance of avoiding traffic.

I gave this Stone Street a shot yesterday on the way back from Sandwich, its definitely a good road if your in the area.

[PJH1987]

Because I don't like it when people ask a question and then run away, here is a view of what it all became

On the 9th of October the rally took place. Most of the roads were single tracks, situated around pilgrims way.

Itinerary:
- 10.20: Arrive in dover, start of a 60 mile trip towards Wittersham
- 12.30: visit http://classic-jaguar-racing.co.uk/
- 14.00: Drive to the Waterside Café in Hawkhurst
- 14.30: Lunch at the waterside Café
- 15.30 Drive to dover (70 miles)
- 17.30: Board the ferry, have dinner on the boat.

pictures: http://openroads.be/gentlemansrally/gallery/

Beachy head was out of reach for such a short trip, other than that I did get some good info from this thread. So a big thank you to everyone who participated in it

Kind regards

[s p a c e m a n]

They are some great photos of awesome cars, looks like it was a fun trip