UK Roadtrip, September, Special Car

[Muncher]

A good friend of mine is lending me his 911 GT3 to look after for a month or so from mid-september and is happy for me to use it and take it on a long trip.

I live in Ipswich and there aren't a great deal of good driving roads round here so I want to take it further afield. The longest window of opportunity I have due to work would be leaving at 5pm on a friday and at the latest arriving back at some point on a monday morning, so two possibly three nights away at a maximum.

I would like to drive around Scotland at some point but I just don't think we'd have sufficient time (I will be taking my wife with me and it's in quite close proximity to her birthday) to make that a realistic option unless we are spending a lot of time in the car, with a good chunk of it on the motorway.

So north wales and the Evo triangle area (I've never been there before) seems like the best option, unless anyone else has any better suggestions? Any recommendations as to route to take, or places to stay would be gratefully recieved as I don't know the area at all. Scenic roads rather than pure driving roads would be best as I'm not going to drive it like I stole it and I don't think my wife would like too much of that. I am thinking doing the bulk of the boring driving on the friday night, arriving at a hotel somewhere late and then waking up to some nice scenery, a day of touring, another overnight stay on the saturday night and head back on sunday night/monday morning.

[av185]

Betws y Coed area provides great opportunities for Porsche GT and particularly GT3 flexing along with brilliant scenery too in fact we are having a few days in that area in a couple of weeks.

If the weather is poor there is easy access to the stunning Lleyn Peninsular with great driving roads giving access too with the prospect of more settled weather there.

[Yahonza]

The Lake District and around that part of the world. Some good scenic driving roads and nice places to stay.
Maybe try that after North Wales.

[Mr Tidy]

I don't think you have enough time to enjoy a trip to Scotland properly, unless you plan to be driving most of each day - which may not go down too well with your wife, especially on her birthday.

I did 4 days in Wales last year and had a great time, although 2 days were spent getting there and getting home!

[Gad-Westy]

Yahonza said:

The Lake District and around that part of the world. Some good scenic driving roads and nice places to stay.
Maybe try that after North Wales.

Lakes roads aren't necessarily great for driving, though nice for gawping. But Cumbria has some fantastic roads on the other side of the M6 around Alston and then on into County Durham or Northumberland. I think I'd be tempted to do something around there and maybe get as far north as the borders before heading back down south.

ETA to add some more substance to this:

Ipswich to Middleton-in-Teesdale would take you less time that Ipswich to Betws Coed. Neither is going to be a great journey but at least with the North option, you're just on the A1 for most of your journey which tends to flow okay and far less chopping and changing of one crap road to another.

Day 1 - Ipswich to Teesdale - Maybe come off A1 early and pick up the butter tubs pass, then lunch in the Tan Hill Inn then Brough to Middleton. Middleton would be a good place to stay.

Day 2- spend an hour extra to take in the hartside pass. Middleton to Aslton (great road), then down to Melmerby on the Hartside road, then turn around and do the whole thing in reverse (up hill from Melmerby to Hartside is as good as it gets in the UK in my opinion). Then head north to the borders via Kielder. Loads of great roads in and around moffat, St Marys loch, Hawick etc. Could stay somewhere around there,
Day 3 head out east via Hawick, maybe visit the Jim Clark museum at Duns then A68 all the way back down to the A1, then head home.

You'd be on some of the UK's very best roads doing that and see some great countryside too and lots of places to stop and see along the way. I think it would make a fantastic 3 day trip.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Friday 2nd September 08:50

[Driversmatter]

Cotswolds. If the sun shines the golden stone is wonderful - there are some great roads crossing the Oxfordshire/Gloucestireshire boxers. Nice hotel - little nearer and less motorway driving which defeats point of GT Porsches.

[giveitfish]

Gad-Westy - I posted something very similar in another thread the other week!

I wouldn’t take a GT3 from Buttertubs to Tan Hill though…

My post copied below in case it’s useful.

giveitfish said:

I can't suggest anywhere to stay en-route but there are some great roads here I've driven on day or weekend trips.

Might work as something to expand on?

Leeds to a Northumbria country hotel
- needs an early start and ideally on a Sunday to avoid Dales traffic cramping your style
- Great roads from the edge of Leeds
- Ribblehead Viaduct
- Hawes
- Buttertubs Pass
- Tan Hill Inn, highest pub in England
- Epic Northumbria roads

https://goo.gl/maps/oqsJymsfB33q8sudA

Ooops, I re-ran this route yesterday and realised I'd forgotten about this set of hairpins. Really tight, massive cambers and definately NOT supercar friendly!

In fact I'd miss out the Buttertubs and Tan Hill section altogether in a car with a low splitter. The rest is still worth it, some very quick bits interspersed with bit where more care is needed:

https://goo.gl/maps/gtDf9pdACBfR8b5d8


Keilder and southern Scotland to Edinburgh for the night. Depending on traffic there are some very fast sections here.

https://goo.gl/maps/WY7FVesp8gVCdf2QA


Back down to York
- scenic cross-country run from Edinburgh
- Stokesley to Helmsley (aka the Helmsley TT) is worth the diversion
- Blakey Ridge road, very fast if you're lucky with traffic and sheep. Scene of many an Evo photo shoot.
- Whitby for fish and chips

https://goo.gl/maps/KatbhvzxkA3b35i48

[Gad-Westy]

giveitfish said:

Gad-Westy - I posted something very similar in another thread the other week!

I wouldn’t take a GT3 from Buttertubs to Tan Hill though…

My post copied below in case it’s useful.

giveitfish said:

I can't suggest anywhere to stay en-route but there are some great roads here I've driven on day or weekend trips.

Might work as something to expand on?

Leeds to a Northumbria country hotel
- needs an early start and ideally on a Sunday to avoid Dales traffic cramping your style
- Great roads from the edge of Leeds
- Ribblehead Viaduct
- Hawes
- Buttertubs Pass
- Tan Hill Inn, highest pub in England
- Epic Northumbria roads

https://goo.gl/maps/oqsJymsfB33q8sudA

Ooops, I re-ran this route yesterday and realised I'd forgotten about this set of hairpins. Really tight, massive cambers and definately NOT supercar friendly!

In fact I'd miss out the Buttertubs and Tan Hill section altogether in a car with a low splitter. The rest is still worth it, some very quick bits interspersed with bit where more care is needed:

https://goo.gl/maps/gtDf9pdACBfR8b5d8


Keilder and southern Scotland to Edinburgh for the night. Depending on traffic there are some very fast sections here.

https://goo.gl/maps/WY7FVesp8gVCdf2QA


Back down to York
- scenic cross-country run from Edinburgh
- Stokesley to Helmsley (aka the Helmsley TT) is worth the diversion
- Blakey Ridge road, very fast if you're lucky with traffic and sheep. Scene of many an Evo photo shoot.
- Whitby for fish and chips

https://goo.gl/maps/KatbhvzxkA3b35i48

Great minds! Though worth mentioning that I took my 911 over buttertubs and tan hill quite recently and it was okay. In all honesty I think buttertubs is hugely overrated as a drivers road but it seems popular and is quite scenic. The roads around tan hill are definitely not for pressing on either but again a cool place to break up the journey.

[giveitfish]

I agree completely. I originally included Buttertubs and Tan Hill because they're famous and make an obvious route to the better roads further north, then I removed them when I drove it and was reminded of the horrendously steep and tight hairpins if you take the direct route to Tan Hill. Fine in my Elise but I imagine not so good in anything bigger and lower!

[brisel]

The B6259 from Hawes to Kirby Stephen would be better for a GT3 than Buttertubs and Tan Hill. Head on to Brough then the B6276 to Middleton in Teesdale.

From Ipswich, cross the Wash then head up to Sleaford, Bardney, across the Lincolnshire Wolds e.g. B1225, across the Humber Bridge then Malton, across the Moors via Blakey Ridge or B1257 towards Yarm then west into the Dales.

[Pflanzgarten]

The Borders, the real Borders. Nothing else compares these days and we even have some stunning restaurants and hotels these days.

[Steve_H80]

Wales, the Lakes and the Yorkshire Dales if you want admiring glances from the thronging hoards.
Teesdale, the Borders and Northumberland if you want to drive - the sheep don't care and won't look once at you.
Both hotels in Middleton in Teesdale do very good food if you like that kind of thing.

[Muncher]

With a bit of help from a mate a plan is coming together:

Friday night, depart Elvedon 4pm and arrive in Crickhowell at 8pm.

~ 3:30 drive time, 216 miles

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Center+Parcs+Elved...


Saturday run north to Betws-y-Coed

~ 6 hour drive time 214 miles

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/The+Dragon+Inn+C...


Sunday depart Betws-y-Coed, taking in the evo triangle along the way

~6 hour drive time, 299 miles

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Craig-y-Dderwen+...

Any thoughts on that?