Planning a scenic driving route in the UK

Pick your roads with care

Motorways get you there, but they rarely make you glad you went. If the point of the drive is the view, build the day around A-roads and B-roads instead, and treat the motorway as nothing more than a way of reaching the good bit.

On a map, the wiggliest lines are usually the ones worth driving. They follow valleys, hug coastlines and crest hills, but they are also slow. A B-road that looks like a short hop can take an hour, and a single-track lane with passing places can take longer still. Plan distance by time, not by miles, and be honest with yourself about how much you actually want to drive.

• Good scenic workhorses include the A686 across the North Pennines, the A93 through the Cairngorms, the A39 along the Exmoor coast, the A170 through the North York Moors and the B3306 in west Cornwall.
• Avoid the obvious honey pots on bank holiday weekends, when a beautiful road becomes a slow queue of caravans and hire cars.
• Link your highlights with dull-but-quick stretches of dual carriageway rather than trying to make every mile scenic.

Check the route before you set off

A route that was open in spring can be shut in November, and the reason is often something you would never guess from a map. Check the day before and again on the morning you leave.

• Temporary closures and roadworks are worth checking on the relevant council or traffic information sites, especially for bridge repairs and resurfacing.
• Seasonal closures affect many upland passes and some coastal lanes. High passes in Cumbria and Wales can be shut by snow or ice, and some steep, narrow routes are genuinely unsuitable for large cars or nervous drivers at any time of year.
• Local events close more roads than people expect. Agricultural shows, cycle sportives, half marathons and village festivals regularly shut B-roads for a morning.
• Your destination matters too. Rural car parks, toilets and tea rooms keep seasonal hours, and a viewpoint with a locked gate at the end of a two-hour drive is a miserable discovery.

Plan your fuel, charge and comfort stops

In towns, petrol stations are everywhere. In the hills and along the coast, they can be twenty or thirty miles apart, unmanned, card-only, or shut by six in the evening and all day Sunday. Fill up when you are down to half a tank rather than waiting for the warning light.

If you drive an electric car, plan charging before you plan the scenery. Rural rapid chargers are thinner on the ground, some are single units that may be occupied or out of service, and cold weather can knock a noticeable chunk off your range. Have a backup charger in mind, and remember that a headwind on an exposed moorland road costs you range just as uphill work does.

Comfort stops deserve the same thought. Village pubs often need booking at weekends, and a flask and a sandwich in a lay-by with a view is sometimes the better plan anyway. Build in a proper break every couple of hours, not just a quick leg stretch.

Watch the weather and the clock

Check the forecast for the whole route, not just for home. Hills and coasts make their own weather, and mist can turn a spectacular pass into a slow crawl with no view at all.

• Rain and flooding are the big ones. Standing water on rural roads hides potholes, and fords that look shallow can be deeper and faster than they appear.
• Wind is a real factor on exposed bridges, moorland roads and coastal stretches, particularly in a tall vehicle or with a roof box.
• Daylight catches people out between October and March. In the far north, sunset can be before four in the afternoon, and you do not want your first experience of a single-track road to be in the dark.
• Timing makes or breaks a scenic drive. Early mornings give you quiet roads and low, lovely light. Weekend afternoons give you everyone else.

Also remember that deer, sheep and pheasants are most active at dawn and dusk, and they do not respect your itinerary.

Prepare the car and yourself

A few minutes of checks save a lot of trouble. Tyre pressures and tread, a spare or repair kit, working lights, and screenwash mixed strongly enough for the season. Top up oil and coolant if they need it. Give the car a quick look underneath if you have been on muddy lanes recently.

Bring more than you think you need: water, snacks, a warm layer, waterproofs, a torch and any medication. Download offline maps before you go, because signal blackspots are common in the places you most want to visit. Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, and check that your breakdown cover actually covers the area and the vehicle.

Drive the road, not just the route

Rural driving has its own etiquette, and getting it right makes the day better for everyone.

• On single-track roads, use passing places to let faster traffic by. Pull in properly rather than stopping in the middle, and never park in a passing place.
• Give way to livestock, farm vehicles and horses. Slow right down, do not rev or sound the horn, and pass wide and gently.
• Cyclists, walkers and riders all share these lanes. Leave at least a car's width when passing and wait until you can see the road ahead.
• The national speed limit is a maximum, not a target. On a blind bend or a muddy lane, 30mph may still be too quick.

Finally, allow time to stop. The best moments on a scenic drive are usually unplanned — a lay-by with a view, a village shop with a decent pasty, a beach you spotted from the road. Leave slack in the plan and the day will repay you.