UK Roadtrip - Scotland/Wales/South West

[Josh147]

Hi all,

As I'll be picking up my BMW M135i in the next few weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to take it on a bit of a road trip and enjoy the car as much as possible.

Subject line tells you what I have in mind but any suggestions of particular roads to visit & places to stay would be welcome, as would be any other advice you may have.

I have a rough idea of the route I'll be doing (see link below) but I'd like to hear of the routes you have taken, your experiences and any discoveries.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=20689593989...

Cheers

[will_]

Depending on time and budget, if I were doing a roadtrip of that sort of distance I'd ignore the UK and head into Europe. Northern France will be far less congested, you could even head through the Black Forest in Germany and into Switzerland.

[Josh147]

will_ said:

Depending on time and budget, if I were doing a roadtrip of that sort of distance I'd ignore the UK and head into Europe. Northern France will be far less congested, you could even head through the Black Forest in Germany and into Switzerland.

Quite fancy seeing what the UK has to offer first. There will be European trips in the future too though.

[will_]

Josh147 said:

Quite fancy seeing what the UK has to offer first. There will be European trips in the future too though.

Fair enough.

If you want a decent road-trip, Europe is much emptier, has better weather, cheaper petrol and it's more of an adventure. It's not too hard to find huge areas of incredible roads and you won't see another car for miles. And if you do get caught by the rozzers, no points....

On the other hand if you just want to explore the UK (rather than doing the trip for the driving pleasure) then Scotland and Wales do have some brilliant roads.

For what it's worth I've done five or six Euro trips but am saving Scotland for when time and budgets are tighter. You can do an excellent route through Wales from Slough in just a weekend if you're prepared to do some long driving days.

[Josh147]

will_ said:

Fair enough.

If you want a decent road-trip, Europe is much emptier, has better weather, cheaper petrol and it's more of an adventure. It's not too hard to find huge areas of incredible roads and you won't see another car for miles. And if you do get caught by the rozzers, no points....

On the other hand if you just want to explore the UK (rather than doing the trip for the driving pleasure) then Scotland and Wales do have some brilliant roads.

For what it's worth I've done five or six Euro trips but am saving Scotland for when time and budgets are tighter. You can do an excellent route through Wales from Slough in just a weekend if you're prepared to do some long driving days.

Weekend trips sound like a good idea too..
Have you done any of these?

[will_]

Josh147 said:

Weekend trips sound like a good idea too..
Have you done any of these?

Yep, North Wales (evo triangle) and South Wales (Brecon Beacons). You could combine them together but actually they are both well worth doing properly seperately.

There are plenty of threads on here regarding both - or just take a look at Googlemaps and put together a route you think is do-able for a day.

I've usually got a few friends together and taken a cottage (works out cheaper per head per night than a B&B).

[Craikeybaby]

I've recently been to Scotland and the south west on consecutive weekends and it is a lot of driving. How long are you allowing for that trip?

The Scotland bit looks fine, but in the south west I'd take the A39 from Bridgwater over Exmoor to Barnstaple are, its a great bit of road, especially after Porlock Hill.

[Josh147]

Craikeybaby said:

I've recently been to Scotland and the south west on consecutive weekends and it is a lot of driving. How long are you allowing for that trip?

The Scotland bit looks fine, but in the south west I'd take the A39 from Bridgwater over Exmoor to Barnstaple are, its a great bit of road, especially after Porlock Hill.

Looking at taking a week so I'll be doing other things than just driving...

Thanks for the suggestions

[Craikeybaby]

That's a lot of driving in a week!

[Josh147]

Craikeybaby said:

That's a lot of driving in a week!

May be longer then...

[GetCarter]

Josh147 said:

May be longer then...

I appreciate that it's a long way, but you are missing most of the good roads in Scotland. Your trip north of Fort William to Skye will give you an idea of what lies further north and west - the roads with far fewer cars.

In any event, have fun.

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

[Josh147]

GetCarter said:

I appreciate that it's a long way, but you are missing most of the good roads in Scotland. Your trip north of Fort William to Skye will give you an idea of what lies further north and west - the roads with far fewer cars.

In any event, have fun.

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

Those pictures look incredible!!
Looks like I'll be revising the route further still...

[GetCarter]

Josh147 said:

Those pictures look incredible!!
Looks like I'll be revising the route further still...

This may help

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

[plenty]

will_ said:

Depending on time and budget, if I were doing a roadtrip of that sort of distance I'd ignore the UK and head into Europe. Northern France will be far less congested, you could even head through the Black Forest in Germany and into Switzerland.

Wales and Scotland far surpass Northern France in quality of driving roads, and the traffic density is pretty low particularly North Wales and the Highlands.

[plenty]

I'd skip the South West unless you have other reasons to be there - spend more time in the Highlands as others have pointed out. The Highlands are really the main event - the further north you go the better, and the best roads there are up there with the best in the world.

Instead of M6/A74/M74 from Kirkby Stephen to Glasgow, head east from Kirkby Stephen and pick up the B6278 from Barnard Castle followed by the B6306 at Edmundbyers to Hexham. Northumberland is wonderful driving country - flowing, open roads with great sightlines and little traffic.

From Hexham head east on A69 then A696 just south of Ponteland north to Edinburgh. A much more fun route into Scotland - from Edinburgh cut across west on the M9 to Stirling, A84 to Callander, left turn onto the A821 to Aberfoyle which takes you on an exceptionally scenic detour via the Trossachs. Then pick up the A81 and A82 to follow your original route.

[Allyc85]

plenty said:

I'd skip the South West unless you have other reasons to be there - spend more time in the Highlands as others have pointed out. The Highlands are really the main event - the further north you go the better, and the best roads there are up there with the best in the world.

Agreed! I live in the South West and the roads are clogged up with coffin dodgers, farmers and motorhomes doing 40mph at best, unless you get up very early for a drive!

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Is this primarily about driving the new car on fun roads, or seeing as much of the country as possible?

I ask because as far as I can see the majority of it is on relatively dull A-roads and Motorways. Would it be better to alter the balance a bit, at the cost of covering less ground?

[Josh147]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Is this primarily about driving the new car on fun roads, or seeing as much of the country as possible?

I ask because as far as I can see the majority of it is on relatively dull A-roads and Motorways. Would it be better to alter the balance a bit, at the cost of covering less ground?

Bit of both really.
As I said in my initial post, the route I've set out at the moment is a rough idea.

Edited by Josh147 on Saturday 3rd August 01:14

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

I think the problem might be that interesting roads aren't necessarily the best for covering ground. You also need to bear in mind how long you can drive each day without getting too tired to enjoy it.

For example, here's a 229-mile route across Wales that includes some fantastic stretches and would be nearly enough for a full day of driving: http://goo.gl/maps/5Xd1R

There are enough roads in Wales and the borders for two or three more days like that, and Scotland will be the same, but with even better roads. How about just visiting one area?

[agent006]

GetCarter said:

I appreciate that it's a long way, but you are missing most of the good roads in Scotland. Your trip north of Fort William to Skye will give you an idea of what lies further north and west - the roads with far fewer cars.

In any event, have fun.

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

Exactly this. Going all that way to just drive from Fort William to Uig and back is a complete waste of time. The route Steve posted is pretty much perfect for an M135i.