Best driving roads in the UK

As a classic car owner, you want to be able to drive your vintage motor on some of the best roads that the British Isles has to offer. It’s easy to forget that we’re blessed with some incredible landscapes here in the UK – it’s just a case of knowing where to find them.

With international travel on the backburner for a little bit, there’s never been a better time to go on a little road trip on some of the best driving roads in the UK.

Just be mindful not to get too carried away when exploring and taking in the sights – keep one eye on that speedometer at all times to ensure you’re not exceeding any limits. A speeding ticket will put the dampers on any trip, no matter your surroundings. It could also cause a hike in your classic car insurance premiums next year, too.

Speaking of which, if you’re going to increase your annual mileage exploring the best driving roads in the UK, make sure you’ve got adequate classic car insurance cover. More on finding the classic car cover that’s right for you at the end of the article – but for now, let’s dive right into some of the best UK drives around.

A18 Snaefell Mountain Road, Isle of Man

If you’re a fan of the Isle of Man TT, you might already be familiar with Mountain Road which forms part of the road-racing circuit.

This A-road of 13.35 miles connects the towns of Douglas and Ramsey and skirts the peak of Snaefell, the tallest mountain on the island at 2,035 feet.

Following the route, you’ll be swept up to 422 metres above sea level, with gradients of up to 14% so choose your car wisely!

You also want to ensure your classic car can cope with the countless tight bends and sheer drops on the Mountain Road. Maybe it’s time to renew that breakdown cover now?

With no national speed limit on the Isle of Man, you can really cut loose on the A18, but be careful of overusing this freedom. Careless and dangerous driving laws still apply on the island, so you could find yourself getting a slap on the wrist – or worse – should you look to stretch your classic on these roads.

Most classic car owners are sensible drivers, so a word of caution is perhaps unnecessary. It’s for this reason – and others – that classic car insurance often comes cheaper than standard insurance. By and large, we’re a sensible bunch who care too much about our precious classics to risk putting them in danger.

A1 Great North Road, Edinburgh to London

The Great North Road – which was once the main highway between England and Scotland – is so rich with history that books have been published about it. If anything needed to be transported between the two countries, it would be done so via the Great North Road.

Back in the day, coaching inns, many of which remain in existence to this day, provided travellers with accommodation, stabling for horses and replacement mounts.

They were extremely popular, as you might imagine, and everybody wanted their slice of the travelling trade. If you’ve ever been to Barnet, Hertfordshire you’ll have noticed an unusually high number of historic pubs along its high street. That’s because of its former position on the Great North Road.

As travellers would make their stops at coaching inns, ale and embellished stories would flow. Perhaps the most famous fictional story told was that of highwayman Dick Turpin, who is said to have journeyed from London to York in less than 15 hours on his mare Black Bess.

Coaching inns up and down the route have made good money over the years off the back of the tale claiming Turpin ate a meal or stopped for respite for his horse at their inn. However, historians argue that Turpin never made the journey at all.

Right, enough of the history lesson, let’s get back to the route. The modern A1 now parallels the route of the Great North Road – but unfortunately, in the name of being as direct as possible, the route bypasses the towns in which the coaching inns are found.

But that isn’t to say that you can’t go off-piste if you so wish… There’s so much history to find along the route if you go looking for it.

A470, Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road, Wales

This 186-mile route links Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. It’s quite satisfying going from one end of the country to the other in a single day. But there’s much more to this coast-to-coast route than that.

The biggest draw is that it takes you through two of Wales's national parks: the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia National Park. As good as some of the sights are from the road, you’re missing an opportunity if you don’t get out to stretch your legs (that’s putting it lightly) – you’ll also pass the Cambrian Mountains, the Severn and Wye valleys on your route.

You really are spoilt for choice in terms of stop-offs – but there’s plenty of good driving to be found, too. The majority of the route is single carriageway, with only the 26 miles from Cardiff Bay to Merthyr Tydfil comprising good quality dual carriageway. But don’t let that put you off.

Much of the road has been suitably upgraded over the years, which is important when you’re behind the wheel of a classic car which doesn’t have the suspension for rough terrain!

If you’re not a regular visitor to Wales, this route will give you a new appreciation of ‘The Land of Castles’ (you’re sure to see many castle ruins along the way, hence the nickname). Make sure you take a good camera with you, would be our advice.

A896 The Road to Applecross, Scotland

This route is so good it goes by three names: Bealach na Bà, or the ‘Pass of the Cattle’, or the ‘Road to Applecross’. The Bealach na Bà – which translated from Scottish Gaelic means ‘Pass of the Cattle’ due to it being a drover’s road – was the only road linking Applecross with the rest of the country until the late 1900s.

Built in 1822, this route harbours a resemblance to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends and extreme gradients (up to 20%). In fact, it has the steepest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 2,054 ft.

So, it’s not a route for the faint hearted – “Bealach na Bà is as unforgettable and beautiful as it is nerve wracking,” according to Country Life – or those with classic cars which aren’t quite up to the challenge of a constant climb. The route is considered unsuitable for learner drivers and very large vehicles, and can be impassable in winter so you will need to plan your road trip timing just right.

But if you do make it up the ascent (fingers crossed), you’ll be greeted by the Applecross Inn pub offering a stunning view out across the Applecross Bay to the Isles of Raasay and Skye. Sat there, sipping something cold (or hot, this is Scotland after all), with your pride and joy in eyeline, you’ll feel very good about the world indeed.

A39 The Atlantic Highway, Cornwall to Devon

If the ‘Atlantic Highway’ sounds like some good branding rather than a historical route, that’s because that’s exactly what it is. This 70-mile section of the A39 that runs from Fraddon in Cornwall to Barnstaple in North Devon was given its name in the 1990s as a way to promote the region to tourists.

But the over-the-top branding doesn’t take away from the fact it’s a delightful little route with wild hills out of one window and some of Britain's best coastline out the other.

Here’s what Lonely Planet has to say about it: “It's an area that feels a little cut off from the rest of Cornwall, but it gives access to some of the county's prettiest fishing villages – there's a good reason that the hit TV series Doc Martin was filmed here. Elsewhere, there's a string of impressive beaches to explore around Bude, and a stunning cliff top castle at Tintagel that's rife with Arthurian connections.”

The highlight of the route is arguably the Devon section from Barnstaple to Bude. You’ll pass some of the some of the most popular surfing beaches in northern Cornwall too along the way. So, don’t forget to strap your surfing board to the roof of your classic…

A2 Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland

We complete our best driving roads in the UK list with a trip to Northern Ireland to see one of the greatest natural wonders in the world: Giants Causeway.

If your knowledge of Giants Causeway is a little flaky, it’s officially described as an “area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.”

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, it receives around one million visitors a year, making it one of the biggest tourist spots in the UK. And it doesn’t cost you a penny to go and see it.

However, depending on where you’re coming from, you will have to pay a fair amount in petrol money if you plan on taking the 120-mile Causeway Coastal route, which hugs the coastline between Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.

The route allows you to take in the rock formation plus many more natural and manmade wonders – the beautiful Ballintoy Harbour, for example. The route connects with two other key tourist drives – Wild Atlantic Way at Londonderry and the Mourne Coastal Route at Belfast – so you can extend your road trip if you see fit. Or, you could just spend the day immersed in the incredible scenery at Giants Causeway, of course.

The Official website of Tourism Ireland has come up with a brilliant resource if you want to spend a week exploring the Causeway Coastal route. The guide provides you with attractions for each day, places to eat and more. Obviously, you can use as many or as few of the recommendations as you like – but sometimes it’s handy having someone else doing the navigation when you’re the driver!

Be protected for every mile with classic car insurance

If we’ve enthused you into taking in some of the best driving roads that the UK has to offer, make sure you check your classic car insurance cover before you set off.

We’d recommend going all-in and getting complete cover with all the optional benefits so that should anything happen somewhere along the way, you’re well and truly protected.

Lancaster is the broker of choice for thousands of UK classic car owners looking for the right cover at the right price.

For over 35 years the team of insurance specialists at Lancaster have been making sure that as many classics as possible are kept on the road. Every year we see vehicles hitting significant milestones because they’ve been adequately protected.

Choosing cover from Lancaster entitles you to a range of benefits including:

• Salvage retention rights – If your car is declared a total loss following a claim, you may have the option to purchase the remaining salvage of your vehicle.
• EU cover – If you are travelling around Europe, you will have the same level of cover as you do in the UK for up to 90 days.
• Club member discounts – If you are a member of a Ferrari owners club, you could be eligible for a members club discount.
• Agreed value – If your car is written off following a claim, we will pay out the agreed value (subject to photos and confirmation in writing (excluding Third Party Only cover).

You’ll also have 24-hour access to our claims helpline and UK-based call centre.

Get a quote for classic vehicle insurance today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.