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Various recommendations, scoured from various sources &
personal experience:
At the moment it's nothing more than a list - I will get around
to organising it all one day!
Bavarian Rally Route - Just an image, so you'll need some
routemaster type application to work out a route. Untested
by me too - but there are some great roads in the areas
used by this rally - Bavarian
Rally
Another image for a suggested tour of the Lake
District
See also http://speedlimit.dreamwater.org/drivingroads.html
& http://www.pistonheads.com/roads/uk.asp
The road from East Ayton N.Yorks through the forest to the
main Scarborough Whitby road. It has a great triple hairpin
switch back hill.
Colsterworth to Helmsley via some of Linconshire's nicest and
some of Yorkshire's finest roads, including crossing the Humber
Bridge. Route details here
The roads south of Bedford, around Old Warden/Ireland/Haynes;
Cardington - Old Warden - Biggleswade. Also recommended is the
Bedford to Kimbolton road, and then head west to Higham Ferrers
on the B645.
London to Brighton: See the MG Regency Run 2001 route here
(the part with the soft verge warning (Ashington) maybe
a bit bumpy for a very low Elise!). You can also find
the Ruggs route here
Blakey Ridge, North Yorks
A507 heading east out of Baldock towards the A10.
The A6 from Shap to Kendal.
Settle to Hawes to Reeth
Castleton to Kirbymoorside
Skibbereen to Mizen Head
Twizel to Queenstown
Old Deer to Braemar
Oban to Cape Wrath
The Dukes Pass (near Loch Lomond)
B660 from Kimbolton all the way to Ramsey
A31 to A3 down to southampton from the M25
Melton Mowbray to Market Harborough B road
Buttertubs Pass - between Hawes and Thwaite in the Yorkshire
Dales.
View Larger
Map
Route above shows Buttertubs at point D, but also includes includes Tan Hill at point E (pub stop - see http://www.tanhillinn.com/), and the road from Dent to Ingleton.
The A57 Snake Pass - The road from Glossop to the Ladybower
reservoir. http://www.highpeak.co.uk/hp/hm_03bd.htm
Not the longest road and not many straight bits but enough
to get past cars when you know where they are. Lots of short,
sharp bends, a few longer higher speed ones and one long, 100mph+,
tree/hedge lined bend for the brave. Some of the bends are a
bit bumpy and can easily unsettle you and there is one short
straight where you are guaranteed to take of very easily. The
drummer from Def Leppard lost his arm on the Snake Pass when
he crashed his car.
The following route combines the Snake Pass
(A) with the Cat'n'Fiddle Pass (C).
View Larger
Map
The following route is a double loop that starts at the Cat'n'Fiddle:
View Larger
Map
Brynammen to Port Aber (and onto Brecon).
A19 york to Thirsk or York to Stokesley over the north Yorkshire
moors.
B1257 Stokesley - Helmsley then to Scarborough & Whitby
The following route leads from the south up to Helmsley:
View Larger
Map
The A272 running West-East is a great road (but crap
once you get into Kent), and the A283 & A286 running N-S
up to the A3 not bad either.
The French N5 from Dijon down to Geneva. Nice national route
"A-Road" equivalent with some stunning bends once you hit the
mountains.
The road from Chamonix over to Martigny and then down to Aosta.
Col De l'Iseran and the Col du Mont Cenis in your way down
to Italy from France.
Germany: The Hunrueckenhoehestrasse down around the Mosel and
the road down the to Bernkastel-Kues.
Germany: Most roads in the Bavarian and Black forests.
Motorcycle Tour Guide to France and Spain http://www.btinternet.com/~ultrablade/index.html
Mazda6 - Six
Of The Best Roads
http://cars.msn.co.uk/carnews/mazda6/
This website actually describes a journey from St Andrews, down
the western side of the UK, flowing through:
1. A68, Edinburgh. Crossing the Forth road bridge, with the famous
rail bridge alongside, past Edinburgh taking the A68, towards
the Borders.Past Jedburgh, heading for the Cheviot Hills, Northumberland
and England.
2. B6318, Otterburn.Take the A696 where the road splits at Otterburn,
then cross-country on the squiggly B6309 to the B6318. Often it’s
arrow straight, but never boring as it climbs and dips through
wild, beautiful countryside. What makes the B6318 special is what
runs alongside Hadrian’s Wall and the old Roman forts at
Chesters, Housesteads and Vindolanda.
3. A686, Gilderdale Forest - Penrith. From halfway along the
Wall, turn south west onto one of the best of all British roads,
the A686, over the fells, through Gilderdale Forest to Penrith.
4. A6, Penrith-Kendal For over thirty miles the A6 winds across
moors and fells. This road was the main North-South road before
the M6 was built.From Penrith it climbs steadily until the village
of Shap. At over 1300 feet, Shap Summit is the highest point,
and in winter one of the wildest. There's a spectacular run into
Kendal with huge views and more great driving. It’s an ancient
town, largest in Westmorland and eastern gateway to the Lake district.
From Kendal take the M6 for a fast run past Lancaster, Preston,
Wigan and Warrington, then switch motorways, west towards Chester
on the M56, south on the M53, to the A483 - winding south along
the Welsh borders in and out of Wales itself, past Wrexham, Oswestry,
Welshpool, Newtown, Llandrindod Wells and Builth Wells. And finally,
cross-country towards Brecon, along a few miles of A40.
5. B4560, Brecon
6. A272, Winchester. Leave Wales by the A40 and A449, onto the
M4 over the new Severn bridge. And a choice of great roads:
a. west again and Devon and Cornwall are packed with options
b. east towards Salisbury Plain,
c. Winchester. and the A272, this runs from Winchester to east
of Uckfield. It was the major part of the old Pilgrim’s route
between Canterbury and Winchester.
Alex, Leeds
One of the truly great Elise roads is from Pickering over Fylingdales
moor to Whitby (great F&Cs at the Magpie Cafe) and then
back via Stokesley and the B1224 (I think) to Helmsley.
Ian Whitfield
The A342 Devizes to Andover is a good road, the stretch over
Salisbury plain from Upavon to Luggershall is the best bit -
excellent bends and overtaking straights with open countryside.
Andy Mac
Drove from Penrith up the A686 over Hartside to Alston from
there to Brampton then carlisle, on the A595 to Bassenthwaite
to Keswick Borrowdale, Honnister pass Cockermouth and back.
Awesome drive,one of the benefits of living next to a national
park. Along with the super fast "colin mcrae corsica"
style, A6 from Kendal to Penrith these are two of the best roads
in the Lake District.
Mark A, West MIds
Abergwesyn pass in Mid Wales is amazing. Start at Tregaron
and head east narrow single track mostly but very quiet and
good forward view for a lot of it, joins the A483 at Beulah.
Another good loop is to start at Rhayader and head north west
out on the A470, a fast flowing road, follow it onto the A44
before heading south west on the B4343 for a short stretch before
joining the A4120 to devils bridge. You then head south east
on the B4574 which eventually turns into a single track road
which is very open, just watch out for a few airbourne points,
back to Rhayader.
Adam Buckley
The 'Pirbright bends' between Frimley Green and Pirbright in
Surrey are the business but pretty scary if you get it wrong.
Lots of people do (there are plenty of scars in the trees and
you often see recently binned cars in the hedge. Short but sweet.
From the bottom of these bends (immediately after the railway
bridge) you can peel off hard right and experiment with another
quite amusing road back towards Mytchett.
It ain't worth a trip from another county but I get to drive
it everyday on the way to work :)
For serious action, you can't beat the long twisty road to
the top of Feldberg (about 45 minutes north ofFrankfurt). Allthough
full of mad jerry bikers trying to show their immortality, it's
the best. Lots of bad accidents so sometimes heavy police presence.
Only ever done it on a bike but if it were nearer the Elise
would love it. Not been there for years so maybe it's been 'speedhumped'
Mark Barrett
The OLD back road between Cirencester and Cheltenham the A435
I think is worth a punt - not slow challenging corners but big
fast ones (mostly 4th gear) and pretty empty now the Dual Carriageway
has been built from Cirencester to the M5
Adrian Y
My all time favourite, although a little inaccessible, is
the Cornish Coast road between Penzance and Lands End - absolutely
magical and totally breathtaking scenary.
Tony Curly
We did a massive day on S2K starting early at St Moritz
and doing the Simplon ? Pass to Tirano then the Passo di Moltirolo
for breakfast then two further passes (the Gavia and one I have
forgotten) to the foot of Stelvio then up Stelvio for lunch (long)
followed by a blat down the other side and down to Merano (near
the cable car hotel at Lana (99)) then over the Passo de Rombo
to stop for the night at Obergurgle. It was the most mental day
bar none on any Stelvio.
rob earle - Alps are a big place!! Here are some of my favourites:
Klausenpass - one of the famous hillclimbs - still has
some of the cobbled hairpins at the bottom - watch out for
angry farmers who try and stop you having too much fun (they are
swiss afterall!) - located South of Lake Lucern - stunning.
http://www.picswiss.ch/Land01/ur-l1-07.html
Timmelsjoch - Runs from Obergurgle in Austria to Merano in
Italy. Pass closes at 8pm. http://www.tourenland.de/paesse/timmel.htm
From Val d'Isere to Susa - This is superb driving - especially
on the Italian side where the tarmac is in perfect condition.
Stelvio - Gotta go for your Liz history - this is where they
tested the brakes. Isn't the best drive but stunning: http://stelvio.webcam.popso.it/default.e.html
Col du Cayolle - In the Southern Alps - my backyard. A page
from my website - is the Col de Bonette but similar scenery:
http://www.lotuspage.8m.com/route/coldebon/coldebon.htm
Petit St Bernard is good too from Switzerland to the Aosta
valley in Italy.
Bill
Another one I love is from Martigny in Switzerland over
to Chamonix in france on the Col des Montets. This has sections
full of tight hairpins followed by 100mph+ straights and then
more hairpins. Most of it has good visibility and the Swiss half
has great road surfaces.
RNLI
I'm a regular over the Grimsel, Fukra and Susten Passes,
to and from Bern (round trip) this is about 300 miles and a quite
brilliant day out. Klausenpass is excellent to as is the Stelvio.
I will also add that on the far side of Interlaken (for anyone
who goes there)there is an excellent road running parallel to
the lake heading North to Bern as is the road from Besceson (France)
to Neuchatel (Switzerland)
Andrew (woger_wabbit)
- My first (and still unforgettable) pass experience was Passo
dello Spluga (in a 1.25 rental Fiesta!) which was still fantastic
when I tried it the second time two years later (still not in
an Elise).
- For everyone, I recommend the Falk, Strassenatlas - Alpenländer,
which has me salivating even at my desk! Pick any of the thin
twisty yellow lines and have fun!
Campbell - Scottish Nurburgring
At least, that's what Autocar called it. The B709,
from Langholm to Middleton.
I drove it on Sunday, as part of a new loop I wanted to try
out:
- Edinburgh
(Fairmilehead) to Moffat via A701.
- Moffat to Lockerbie via old A74 (now the "sideroad"
to the M74...always deserted)
- Lockerbie to Langholm
- Langholm to Innerleithen (B709)
- Innerleithen to Middleton (B709 plus some other B road)
All told, something like 180 miles and about 3.5 hours including
a couple of short stops.
Edinburgh to Moffat is dreamy. Pretty good surface, only
a couple of scary blind tightening corners and a decent surface
all the way.
Moffat to Lockerbie is quite potholed. Worth avoiding,
and I'll be trialling some other options to get to the B709
in due course.
The B709 itself is a lot of fun. Narrow in places (almost
single track) but plenty of twists and a reasonable surface
in the main. Watch out for the sheep though!
Just after Innerleithen the 709 runs right through a golf course.
Crash Helmet recommended.
The last stretch over the Lammermuir Hills has some great open
straights but watch the T-junction with the A7, you don't want
to overshoot that one ;-)
I took the highway to the clouds, Giles Milton
Appeared in The Mail on Sunday in Sept 2007 and describes the Routs des Grandes Alpes - click here to see more details.
From The Times:
| THURSDAY
MAY 10 2001 |
| In
search of highways to heaven |
| BY
ANDREW NORFOLK |
A
LONELY 45-mile stretch of road in the northern Pennines
has been catapulted to fame after appearing on a list
of the world's most beautiful drives.
The
winding journey from Penrith to Corbridge was the
only English route to be chosen by the Automobile
Association for its Ten Great Drives list. It also
chose a road in Scotland and another in Wales.
Other
entries ranged from a spectacular Alpine road in France
to America's famous Highway 50, which crosses the
Nevada desert.
For
Cumbria and Northumberland, whose tourist economies
have been hit hard by the impact of foot-and-mouth
disease, the AA's decision to highlight the cross-county
route came as a welcome boost. The Northumbria Tourist
Board said yesterday that it was delighted to be on
the list.
The
list of "the world's most beautiful roads", published
in the AA magazine, describes the Penrith to Corbridge
journey as a trip through "England's last great wilderness".
The
route, which is mainly along the A686, passes across
the River Eden valley, then climbs from Melmerby to
Hartside Cross, 1,900ft above sea level "with stunning
views across Solway Firth to Scotland". It continues
to Alston, "a charming little place with cobbled streets"
which is the highest market town in England, then
crosses "another breathtaking expanse of windswept
upland before running down to the River Allen's beautiful
wooded gorge", finally passing through Hexham to Corbridge.
Neil
Wishart, landlord of the roadside Carts Bog Inn, said
that he was already anticipating extra visitors.
Mr
Wishart, who has lived and worked alongside the road
for 13 years, said that the route was already popular
with driving enthusiasts, including motorcyclists
from Germany and Scandinavia. "Some of the manufacturers
use it to test their cars and at weekends we see E-type
Jaguars, Lamborghinis and Porsches out to stretch
their legs," he said. "The road goes over the backbone
of the Pennines. On a clear day there are beautiful
views."
The
Welsh road included on the list is the 55-mile journey
from the small border town of Presteigne to Aberystwyth
on the coast. In Scotland the AA opted for a 320-mile
trek with "spellbinding scenery" from Fort William
to Tongue.
Also
in the top ten are three French roads, including the
Great Alpine Road from Evian to Nice, and one each
in Ireland, Spain, Germany and the United States.
Jeremy
Clarkson, the motoring broadcaster, said that his
favourite British road was not the Penrith to Corbridge
route - "a good road, but too busy" - but, instead,
Buttertubs Pass between Hawes and Thwaite in the Yorkshire
Dales. "It's England's only truly spectacular road,"
he said.
"I
once raced a helicopter in a Jaguar along there. You
can do it in ten minutes if you really cane it, but
you do tend to hit a few sheep."
New Zealand
A nice
site for route planning, and suggested tours:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/driving-routes/driving-routes-home.cfm
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