'Tour of Britain' road trip

[Chris71]

With all this talk of foreign road trips I wondered just what could be done in Britain. I reckon something broadly like this would be a good start, maybe with ferries to Ireland, the Isle of Man or even somewhere like the Faroes Islands if you're feeling a bit more adventurous:

link

ETA: Correct link borrowed from twazzock

Edited by Chris71 on Monday 20th December 10:39

[blugnu]

Link doesn't work :-(

[Synchromesh]

OP: Try using the 'link' button in the top right of the google map

Edited by Synchromesh on Friday 17th December 12:03

[Chris71]

Synchromesh said:

OP: Try using the 'link' button in the top right of the google map

Edited by Synchromesh on Friday 17th December 12:03

I did. It's got 20-odd waypoints though, so maybe it threw a wobbly. Basically I was thinking of a quick trip down the M4 to the Welsh border, then:

Usk to the Brecon Beacons
Up through central Wales and the Cambrian mountains to Snowdonia
Across to the southern tip of the Yorkshire Dales
Up through the Dales and then west into the Lake District
Into Scotland and round its perimeter, maybe taking a few outlying islands in on the way
Back into England via Northumberland - Kielder Forrest etc. (previous eCOTY territory I believe?)
Across the North Yorks Moors
Down through Lincolnshire

(Then motorway it back to London)

The idea was basically how far you could travel from London without any sustained motorway slogs. Instead of taking two days to travel down to the alps I reckon I could be on prime Welsh tarmac in little more than 2 hours from my front door. After that I don't think you'd need to spend more than a couple of hours on the motorway at any point in the trip?

[kiteless]

This is something I've always fancied doing.

I've seen, and driven, much of Wales and have driven many of the Highland roads recommended by GetCarter. But I have some blank pieces of paper in my "Great Roads by County" gazetteer. North Yorkshire for one, Northumberland for another. Also roads North of Oban have not yet been sampled, nor some of the Fen roads.

What do you reckon on the total time to be taken for such a trip? Seven days?

[twazzock]

Try this link .

Can't really comment on the route, having driven approximately none of it, but it's definitely something I'd love to do!

[spurs-442]

twazzock said:

Try this link .

Can't really comment on the route, having driven approximately none of it, but it's definitely something I'd love to do!

Both of thise routes look amazing - I would also like to do this soon as possible

[IndyAndy777]

Chris71 said:

I did. It's got 20-odd waypoints though, so maybe it threw a wobbly. Basically I was thinking of a quick trip down the M4 to the Welsh border, then:

Usk to the Brecon Beacons
Up through central Wales and the Cambrian mountains to Snowdonia
Across to the southern tip of the Yorkshire Dales
Up through the Dales and then west into the Lake District
Into Scotland and round its perimeter, maybe taking a few outlying islands in on the way
Back into England via Northumberland - Kielder Forrest etc. (previous eCOTY territory I believe?)
Across the North Yorks Moors
Down through Lincolnshire

(Then motorway it back to London)

The idea was basically how far you could travel from London without any sustained motorway slogs. Instead of taking two days to travel down to the alps I reckon I could be on prime Welsh tarmac in little more than 2 hours from my front door. After that I don't think you'd need to spend more than a couple of hours on the motorway at any point in the trip?

This is something I am planning to do this year, I have done Kent-Breccon-Snowdon a few times. I am tempted to start in Cornwall though, and make my way up. I haven't thought about my route back from Scotland yet, maybe even back track.

[GetCarter]

As mentioned above, I live in the north west Highlands of Scotland and know the decent routes in this bit of the world (and when best to drive them), so feel free to get in touch.

This should get you going...

http://www.stevecarter.com/bestuk.htm

...and if you time it right, the roads really are this empty (ie NOT August!)

http://www.stevecarter.com/picaday/roads.htm

[Chris71]

Thanks Steve, will bookmark those.

This is still something I'd love to do, but since the original post I've actually opted for a slightly different driving holiday this year. I'm going pretty much round the perimeter of Spain, with a stop over (and track day) at Guadix thrown in.

[bobsan]

much as I would like to 'drive britain', there's a good reason we slog our way across france to italy and spain etc. every year, POTHOLES.

this country's roads are rubbish compared to europe, just takes all the fun out of it.

[Diesel Fury]

Looks like a good route, it's a shame there isn't a bit more down south though. There are some fantastic coastal roads in Cornwall and Devon, especially the A39 going through Lynton and Lynmouth... loads of twisties around the towns, and incredible gradients to battle with before you get to a nice flowing stretch up to Minehead.

[Slippydiff]

bobsan said:

much as I would like to 'drive britain', there's a good reason we slog our way across france to italy and spain etc. every year, POTHOLES.

this country's roads are rubbish compared to europe, just takes all the fun out of it.

Indeed, but it was very noticeable to me last June that the roads in Scotland were far better maintained in comparison to those in England.

[billzeebub]

looks like a great challenge...I always drive up to Holyhead from London avoiding motorways whenever go to visit mates in Southern Ireland...some of the chaps think thats madness, but I reckon it's borderline insane to want to travel public transport/Irish budget airline...and the ferry is always so much more interesting/evocative too.

also my brother works in Paris, and I always drive to the ferry rather than Eurostar...so much more fun desite taking much longer and the joys (terrors) of driving through central Paris...as a rule of thumb with holidays if I can't take my car I generally don't want to go!..Vegas aside!

[madmover]

id be up for that if anybody else fancied it!

[GetCarter]

The Crack Fox said:

There are some great roads in the UK, but if I had more than a few days I'd be headed somewhere far less congested and more interesting.

You've not been here in Spring then. My record is just over 2 hours without seeing a car - in the rush hour(s).

[torquespeak]

Spent today criss-crossing the Brecon Beacons - definitely rate the Black Mountain pass, but doubling back North on the road from Abercrave to Defynnog is worth a look too IMO.

[Alf Essex]

Im thinking of planning a week long road trip in summer as have ordered a new R8 V10 and want to get the running in over in 1 week, so if i can go on a trip and take in the scenery and test the car would be fun....have to avoid those motorways though.

any ideas?

[Alf Essex]

Yep certainly an option.

Searching on here though im trying to find are there any car websites and such like that you can plan a 'scenic' route with pit stops (over night stops) along the way.

Wanting to run the car in all the way up to scotland and around highlands but starting from Essex and wanting to avoid those motorways, would be good to find a website that can plan for this and upload may be into a gps?

Im thinking of a 3 to 4 days trip and then when im back the car would have been run it

[Harsh]

Alf Essex said:

Yep certainly an option.

Searching on here though im trying to find are there any car websites and such like that you can plan a 'scenic' route with pit stops (over night stops) along the way.

Wanting to run the car in all the way up to scotland and around highlands but starting from Essex and wanting to avoid those motorways, would be good to find a website that can plan for this and upload may be into a gps?

Im thinking of a 3 to 4 days trip and then when im back the car would have been run it

Not sure if there are any sites.....but there are people who do it a lot

http://www.petrolheadnirvana.com/