By Sunny
Nine drives, each worth a long weekend. This is not a list of regions; it is a list of roads, ordered roughly north to south, with what makes each one worth the fuel. Distances are realistic driving days, not point-to-point straight lines.
1. North Coast 500, Scotland
The UK’s flagship driving route: Inverness to Inverness around the north Highlands, about 516 miles. Give it five to seven days. The highlights are the west coast section (Applecross’s single-track pass with hairpins, the beaches at Gairloch and Durness) and the cliff-top run from Helmsdale to John o’Groats. Go in May or September: June to August adds motorhomes and midges. Petrol stations are sparse north of Ullapool; fill up when you can.
2. Snowdonia and the Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales
The A4086 past Llanberis gives the classic view of Snowdon across Llyn Padarn, then the peninsula loops out on quiet roads to Abersoch and the fishing village of Porthdinllaen, whose pub sits on the beach. Two or three days covers it. The A470 through the valleys is the scenic way in from the east.
3. Anglesey
A coastal ring road around an island: about 75 miles, doable in a day but better in two. South Stack’s lighthouse, the beaches at Rhosneigr, and Beaumaris’s castle, the most technically perfect castle in Britain and never finished. Cross on the Menai Bridge and come back over Britannia Bridge.
4. The Peak District’s Snake Pass and the Edale loop
The A57 Snake Pass from Glossop is one of England’s great driving roads, moorland on both sides. Pair it with the Edale valley and the Winnats Pass near Castleton, a limestone gorge road that looks engineered and is not. Compact and doable from a Manchester or Sheffield start.
5. Yorkshire: the Dales and the coast
Two trips in one county. Inland: Swaledale’s villages (Reeth, Muker) on single-track roads with stone barns. Coastal: Whitby north to Runswick Bay, then the sea-cutting road to Scarborough. Add York itself for the walls and the Minster. Three days minimum.
6. The Norfolk Coast
Quiet, flat and understated: King’s Lynn to Cromer on the A149, with stops at Hunstanton’s striped cliffs, Burnham Market, Holkham’s pine-backed beach (the one in the film shots) and Blakeney’s seals. Easy driving, big skies, and the A-roads move at a pace the county sets for you.
7. The Lake District passes
Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands, Wrynose and Hardknott: the passes are the point, and Hardknott is the steepest road in England at 1 in 3. Not a circuit but a pick-and-mix; two days lets you link Honister with Buttermere and finish on Wrynose for the Three Shires Stone. Check the passes are open in winter; they close in snow.
8. The Cotswolds
The gentle one. Broadway, Chipping Campden, Bourton-on-the-Water and Castle Combe, linked by lanes through honey-coloured stone. No drama, just England at its most composed. Busy on summer weekends; a weekday in spring is the sweet spot.
9. Cornwall: the Atlantic coast road
The B3307 from St Ives up the north coast to Zennor and St Just is Cornwall concentrated: granite, sea and hairpins. Finish at Land’s End or turn back through St Agnes and Perranporth. Allow a day, and accept that in August you will queue behind a caravan at some point. That is part of it.
Practical notes
Book accommodation on these routes ahead in summer, especially the North Coast 500, where capacity is limited. A compact or estate suits every drive here; nothing needs an SUV, though ground clearance helps on NC500 side roads. For the hire itself, our car rental guide covers deposits, insurance and one-way rentals, and short term hire explains flexible pickup options. Ready to compare? Search live UK car hire rates.