189 of the best driving roads in the country
31 May 2001, 08:26 AM
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Scooby Senior
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Copied from the Evo Forum, feel free to add more.
This list was compiled by Matt D mattd321@hotmail.com please send any commments new roads etc to him
1. (S) A41 south from Chester,then turn left at a small roundabout, east on the A534 to Nantwich
2. (S) The A494 Mold to Ruthin
3. (S) The Fosse Way heading south from Warwickshire area towards Chester. Also the road between Corwen and Bangor in Wales.
4. A5 west of Telford into Snowdonia – heavily ploddified with some Gatsos. Safer to wait until it gets twisty *
5. (S) The A1120 that runs between the A14 and A12 is a good drive. It's about 25 miles and winds through a few villages (lovely pubs!) but also offers challenging corners, steep descents and a few lovely straights. (Near Ipswich)
6. A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire – superb road, excellent tarmac, but very busy so best done at night or early in the morning. There’s a 50 stretch part way through which is popular with plod ***
7. (S) A814 ... Helensburgh to Arroch. This is actually a B road by any other name. It
twists, it turns it has up and downs, it's a roller coaster of a road. I drove it more
than 10 years ago, after getting lost, and still fondly remember the number of
times I said " Bloody hell" along it. The crowning feature though is if you
mistakenly take a right turn at the roundabout at the end of it... then you end up
crashing through the heavily armed sentries guarding Faslane nuclear submarine
base and being shot to death .. what a thrilling end to a great road!”
8. (S) A509 to wellingbrough. Pretty fast road but be warned it is now quite heavily plodified - above 66mph and you get done. (no longer recommended - take the nearby B526 instead)
9. The B526 off the A509 is not quite as fast but is more twisty, kess busy, and has less risk of unmarked plod cars. *
10. B4343 Tregaron to Devil’s Bridge in Wales, also the B4574 near Devil’s Bridge. Both classic Welsh B roads, very twisty, very quiet, beautiful scenery, but with nice road surfaces too. ***
11. B660 from Bedford to Peterborough aka “The Nurburgring”. The archetypal English country road, this one is a real challenge for car and driver. A tough mixture of twisty bits, fast ton-up open sweepers with good visibility, off camber bends, and atrocious road surfacing in parts make it very tricky in the wet so take care. Nice long straights at the north end with perfect visibility, punctuated with tight 90 degree turns which are ideal for low speed oversteer exits – excellent place to just floor it. Very bumpy though, see how fast you dare go before you start getting airborne (140 in my case). This is the only stretch of road where I’ve seen a 911 go slower than a Ford Focus. Plod starting to show up more round here so watch it ****
12. (S) B4525 between Banbury and the A43
13. The B645 St Neots to Higham Ferrers aka “Spa” – an excellent B road with lots of twisties, open sweepers, and the good visibility typical of Fenland roads. Similar to the B660 but a little more busy and not quite as epic. Watch for plod ***
14. B1443 Thorney to Glinton aka “The Mulsanne Straight”. If getting airborne in excess of 120 is your thing (and going fast without endangering other road users), this is the road for you. Once you get out of the villages, the road is straight for as far as the eye can see, and you can go as fast as you dare. Above 100 most cars will start jumping into the air over the very bumpy surface, so wait till the road is empty and put the car in the middle over the white lines to avoid stuffing it into a ditch, then put the pedal to the metal and cling on for dear life! ****
15. (S) B4116 (Atherstone/E Birmingham)
16. (S) A386 scottish highlands, best bit from Thurso to Ullapool
17. (S) Uxbridge to Slough on the (I think) A4020 - turn right off the dual carriageway at Black Park Country Park - that's a nice short 2-3 mile twisty
18. (S) Portsmouth: the best roads near here are those around Droxford, Clanfield, Hordean etc. The road from Chi to Selsey's not bad either
19. (S) S Wales – between St Clears and Kilgety (the forest stretch) and the old road next to the bypass.
20. (S) Denton/Wallaston (Bedford)
21. (S) Uxbridge area: Bangors lane from Iver to Iver Heath. Pinewood studios to Fulmer (near J2 of the M40).
22. (S) A525 Whitchurch to Wrexham
23. (S) Cardiff to Prestatyn
24. (S) A272
25. (S) A686 Penrith to Alston, Penrith to Heydon Bridge
26. (S) A59 Liverpool York
27. (S) South of France – col de Turini
28. (S) Coast road from Larne up to the North Antrim coast (Giants Causeway etc)
29. (S) A487 west coast of Wales (note – excellent scenery, a pretty fast road with lots of sweepers, unfortunately usually quite busy *)
30. A44 Oxford to Aberystwyth. One of the greatest touring roads in the UK, starting with gentle fast sweepers NW of Oxford, through lovely Cotswolds scenery, then becoming progressively more twisty (but still fast) as you approach Wales. The section from Llangurig going west through the mountains is superb and very fast. Road can be quite busy and is difficult to overtake on at times, so best late at night. ***
31. (S) Roads in NW of Scotland e.g. single track road north out of Lochinver
32. (S) Carronbridge to Bannockburn
33. (S) A93 from Perth to Braemar, then either past Balmoral to Banchory and hack to Stonehaven, then down the coast road to Dundee. Or much better up to Lecht, Tomintoul, Grantown and back south on the A9 (watch for Gatsos). (note – this is where Evo magazine did one of their car of the year tests)
34. (S) B1176 between Grantha, and Spalding (be careful at the middle bit to make sure you stay on the B1176)
35. (S) B1145 between King’s Lynn and Norwich which runs parallel to the A47.
36. (S) Road cutting through Thetford forest between Watton and the A11.
37. (S) Norwich to Mulbarton and beyond on the B1113, then turn off onto the B1135 when you see the sign for Lotus Cars. Follow the road till you hit the roundabout (A11) then turn round and come all the way back.”
38. (S) A701 Moffat to Blythe bridge in Scotland
39. (S) Meon Valley in Hampshire
40. (S) A456 from Birmingham, through Hagley, to Kidderminster
41. (S) A448 Halgey to Bromsgrove
42. (S) A4103 from Worcester to Hereford esp Frome’s hill
43. A49 Whitchurch to Hereford. Similar to the A44, but usually a little quieter. Another excellent sweeping, twisting A road with an excellent road surface. **
44. (S) "Buttertubs pass in the Yorkshire Dales" (note - a short C road from Hawes to Thwaite – superb and quite challenging with steep climbs & descents. Rated best road in Britain by Jeremy Clarkson ****)
45. (S) Cat & Fiddle run over in the Pennines on the A537 Buxton to Macclesfield (note – a superb twisty road with lots of short straights punctuated by sharp turns and several hairpins for practising your handbrake turns. Best done uphill west to east if your car has the power; E to W downhill can be hard on the brakes. Can get very busy. Unfortunately now very heavily plodified - including a plod spotter plane! So watch out and best to go in the small hours. Takes about 8 mins ***)
46. B6318 from Heddon on the Wall to Greenhead parallel to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. A very fast mainly straight road with LOTS of crests which you can jump off if you are brave/stupid enough to do so (many have poor visibility). When I went up there were about 2 or 3 humps that you could see over and were therefore safe to jump from. It is very easy to bottom out on this road too. IMO, too risky to other people to be a good road to go fast on. *
47. A481 NE of Builth Wells – another excellent sweeping A road, quite twisty in parts, with a few fast sweepers **
48. (S) A590 from M6 J36 to A5092 in the south of the Lake District
49. (S) A595 Carlisle to A5092 in the south of the Lake District
50. (S) A686 Haydon Bridge to Penrith
51. (S) B6232 Ramsbottom to Blackburn
52. (S) A515 Buxton to Ashbourne
53. (S) A6 Chapel-en-le-Frith bypass (note – a very fast road indeed through the hills & mountains. Good road surface, width and visibility. There is one section of incredibly fast sweepers you can take at silly speeds, there's even a “suicide” shared overtaking lane which comes in useful when the road is empty. Watch out for plod though because this is busy-ish during the day and a major A road in the area. Best done late at night. **)
54. (S) A404, A404(M), Maidenhead to High Wycombe (note – a dual carriageway therefore very risky due to plod. Not recommended unless you have fake plates or a foreign license!)
55. (S) A52 Nottingham to Boston
56. (S) A429 Warwick to Cirencester (note – again, a busy A road so law enforcement problems. Nice enough but nothing special *)
57. (S) A303 Andover to Ilminster
58. (S) A43 Duddington to Corby
59. (S) Ambleside to Broughton-in-Furness A593 (note –too busy during the day, otherwise an excellent well-surfaced road ***)
60. (S) A83 Arrochar to Inverary, particularly up Glen Croe, then down Glen Kinglas to Loch Fyne
61. (S) Peak District A5004 Buxton to Whaley Bridge
62. B6105 north of Glossop – a tough little B road, very twisty with some fast stretches ***
63. (S) A623 Tideswell moor road between Chapel and Stoney Middleton
64. (S) A7 Galashiels to Edinburgh (note – now reputedly gatsoed and quite heavily policed – I would appreciate more info on this from any locals)
65. (S) A4212 Bala to Trawsfynydd past Llyn Celyn resevoir
66. B4401 just NE of Bala going to Corwen – a good twisty B road with excellent road surfacing ***
67. (S) A272/283 Petersfield towards Brighton
68. (S) A360, A342 around Salisbury plain (note –quite fast in places, watch out for the tanks! *)
69. (S) B4100 Warwick to Banbury
70. (S) Isle of Wight A3055
71. (S) A74 Carlisle to Glasgow
72. (S) A31 Winchester to Guildford
73. (S) Unclassified from Ambleside to A592, then A592 to Ullswater
74. (S) B1098 in the fens behind Chatteris
75. (S) B1104 north of Newmarket
76. (S) A6121 Bourne to Stamford
77. A15 Bourne to Lincoln – fast road, can be busy, good visibility and a fair amount of twists and turns **
78. B4027 just north of Oxford – can get busy at rush hour, but otherwise a typical twisty English B road **
79. (S) A66 across the Pennines, Scotch Corner to Workington (note – very fast, and likely to attract law enforcement)
80. (S) B6254 (off A65)
81. A684 Kendal to Northallerton – superb Dales road, only marred by lack of overtaking opportunities and too much traffic in places. Superb variety, twisty corners, high speed sweepers, dips, crests, steep gradients and tight uphill turns. Like the rest of the Dales roads, watch out for plod in unmarked Scoobs ***
82. (S) A601 (M) (anyone know where this is?)
83. (S) A817 Loch Lomond to Garelochhead
84. (S) A169 Pickering to Whitby
85. (S) B5035 Cromford to Ashbourne
86. (S) B869 from Lochinver and back to the A894
87. A283 Mousehill to Boxgrove nr Chichester. The roads round here get very crowded and enforcement is relatively heavy, but this is a good local choice when it's quiet. *
88. A624 Peak district nr Glossop (note - good road, too much traffic though *)
89. (S) The small roads in the triangle formed by the A428, A509, & A45 can be fun.
90. (S) A507 west of Buntingford
91. B6479 N of Settle
92. (S) A9 in Scotland
93. (S) A701 from Moffat to Edinburgh is good fun. Going south there's a sign which says. 'Moffat 41 miles' Start the clock
94. (S) A23 Caterham bypass
95. (S) A835 from Cape Wrath to Ullapool
96. (S) A170 Thirsk to Scarborough (note – this is a very fast road, lots of great open sweepers. Quite heavy law enforcement now, so watch out). *
97. (S) B1176 Stamford to Grantham (a superb B road, not much traffic, listed as one of the top 5 roads in England by Car magazine. Very very twisty, with lots of dips and crests, and a couple of jumps, the only downside is poor visibility. There are a couple of tightening blind bends so be careful. Suggested by Ev from the Evo forum ***)
98. (S) A151 from Spalding west to the A1 (note – an nice A road, not too busy, lots of twists and turns, some nice sweeping bends, no gatsos **)
99. (S) B676 west of the A1 to Melton Mowbray (note – nice twisty B road, with one long bumpy striaght good for decent 3 figures, fairly good visibility **)
100. (S) Basingstoke to Alton A339 - I've received reports of heavy plodding & bikers white-lining here, so be careful.
101. (S) Strathaven to Muirkirk (A723) south of Glasgow.
102. (S) A592-the Helvellyn bit in particular (more details on this please!)
103. (S) A487 up the west coast of Wales to Balmoral and take the A939 (via 5 miles on the A976) up to Tomintoul, Grantown-on-Spey and Nairn
104. A286 Chichester to Mousehill. Another decent road in this part of the country, still suffers from business and plod though. *
105. (S) A414 Welwyn garden city to Hertford
106. (S) B5105 between Ruthin and Cerrigydrudion
107. (S) A339 Basingstoke to Alton, then B3006 on to Liss
108. (S) A31 between Guildford, Surrey and Southampton
109. (S) A458 from Stourbridge to Bridgnorth and into Wales ("a fair candidate for fun...although it is more a procession of moderate bends than the kind of entertainment offered further north" - swparks)
110. (S) Inverness. Follow the A835 from there to Ullapool, and then on up to Rhiconich (A894/A838 past Ullapool again go out along the A832 to Gairloch, and follow the loop around to Achnasheen. Turn off down the A890.
111. (S) Hindhead to Farnham in Surrey– 8 miles of A and B roads
112. (S) A422 from Worcester to Alcester. The final bit from the A441 to Alcester is bonkers
113. (S) A153 Horncastle to Louth in E Lincolnshire
114. (S) A529 from Nantwich through Market Drayton
115. (S) A169 Pickering to Whitby
116. B6270 – a superb road with not too much traffic, across the north Dales. Lots of climbs and descents, loads of twisty bits, not as many sweepers but all round a very good and quite challenging road with superb views and pretty good visibility. Quite often gets snow/ice being so high up. ***
117. (S) The Forest Drive through Dalby, N of York just off B1363 (note - thanks to Rich H from the Evo forum for this one)
118. (S) B1190 Lincoln to Horncastle
119. (S) A488 from Shrewsbury SW to Knighton
120. (S) B4355, B4356 west of Knighton (Wales)
121. (S) Beulah to Tregaron in Wales (note – one of the most difficult, scary, but exciting roads in the UK, part of it is nicknamed Devil’s Staircase and for good reason! It is all single track road, in many places so narrow that you have to concentrate just to keep the car from leaving the road. Loads of blind bends and crests, steep uphill hairpins, livestock in the middle of the road, 150ft drops to one side, and very limited visibility. Indistinguishable from a tough Welsh rally stage, and with oncoming traffic and no pace notes. Be very careful the first time you do it – watch out for foot&mouth disenfectant mats which have almost no grip and are v easy to skid on, slow down for the blind crests because some go sharp right or left and going 20mph could well send you off the side of a cliff, and be careful of one sharp left hander where the road appears to be going straight on up a gravelly path. Best done at night or in early morning, and you’ll find it hard to exceed 60mph the whole 20 odd miles. Thanks to Rsquire from scoobynet for this one ****)
122. (S) just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Cefn Coed to Talybont on Usk then on the B4558 to Llangynidr and back south to Brynmawr down the B4560 (note – not been on it yet but this is another one from Rsquire so look out! He says “Beware the right hand downhill hairpin at the top of the Torpantau.. Unless you like brown car seats. Again watch for oncoming traffic on summer weekends.")
123. (S) A4069, Llandovery to Brynamman
124. A543 NE from the A5 to Denbigh in N Wales – truly superb high speed moorland road, with loads of twists and turns, a great long uphill climb near the start, excellent visibility, long straights, dips and crests, one or two nice sweepers, a couple of near hairpins, and to top it off the scenery is lovely and there is a pub half way through to stop off for grub! Some of the corners are quite challenging especially in the wet, it’s common to see a car stuffed into a ditch here so be careful first time round. The second section is a bit more sedate but still a great twisty country road, albeit with less visibility. Best done going east to Denbigh ****
125. B4501 from Cerrigydrudion on the A5 north to the A543 – another stunning road, starting with a fast uphill straight, then a very twisty section with lots of dips and crests, and after this the road opens up into a sequence of extremely fast open sweepers which you can take as fast as you and your car will dare. Be careful not to overcook it because you are surrounded by trees and an off at those speeds will be nasty. The road then gets back into a nice short twisty stretch before finishing as it meets the A543, or you can take a right a bit before and stay on the B road. ****
126. A544 Llanfair Talhaiarn to Bylchau – a good twisty uphill stretch of A road. ***
127. A548 from Llanrwst on the A5 to Abergele – another typical twisty Welsh A road, with some nice high speed straights. ***
128. B5113 Pentrefoelas to Colwyn Bay – yet another excellent N Wales hill road ***
129. A470 – great in parts, a bit dull in others, this is still one of the best touring roads in the UK IMO, although more hardcore thrills can be found elsewhere. Contains a mixture of incredibly fast open sweepers, long straights, and also plenty of slate-walled twisties through Snowdonia national park where you can open the window and hear your engine/exhaust note reverberating through the forests. Drawbacks are heavy traffic, boring license-losing long straights and plod out in force, but there are plenty of overtaking spots, loads of variety and lovely scenery to boot. ***
130. B4518 Rhayader to Llanbrynmair – excellent Welsh B road, not heavily used, lots of twists and turns, climbs and descents, the usual stuff ***
131. B4519 Garth to Upper Chapel – stunning & very fast B road starting with a very twisty uphill ascent, then onto an MOD rifle range for some high speed open moorland charging. Great visibility, changing elevation and little traffic – watch out for the sheep. ****
132. (S) B4520 Brecon to Builth Wells. "I
really enjoyed the great surface, succession of corners and gently ups and downs" - swparks
133. A40 Fishguard to Islington – sadly infected with Gatsos and Sunday drivers on a lot of the English stretch, this is still one of the great UK touring roads, crossing almost the entire width of the country and having some superb stretches. The bit from the B4009 (just off the M40) to the Hellfire Club just out of High Wycombe has some great high speed sections, especially the bit with the fast uphill sweepers where there is an overtaking lane allowing you to pass on the outside, or use the full racing line. Pretty much all the single carriageway stretches of road west of Gloucester are good too, just watch out for plod. Keeps going all the way into central london almost right past my flat, so drop me a line if you’re going to be in the area! ***
134. A466 Monmouth to Chepstow – nice surface, twisty road past the banks of the river Wye & Tintern Abbey. Get's busy during the day though **
135. A4086 Capel Curig to Caernarfon (Pass of Llanberis) – another great Welsh A road through the mountains of Snowdonia ***
136. Fish Hill on the A44 near Broadway just E of Evesham. A very steep hill with a wide road and overtaking lane on the way up, featuring a long straight then a few bends, and finally a mad stretch with several tight bends and hairpins which you can take pretty quick (70-ish) especially if the road is empty and you use the full racing line. Be careful of the last two bends though, as the right hander tightens deceptively, and the final left hand hairpin is very sharp. There’s a roundabout at the bottom making it convenient to turn at the top, go downhill (be careful) and swing around to do it again. Watch out for plod. ****
137. B4035 Evesham to Banbury. Superb Cotswolds B road, lots of twists and turns, exciting bends, crests and dips. Only marred by weekend traffic and lack of overtaking places in parts. Road surface is quite poor making the road quite scary in the wet (aquaplane city). ***
138. B4437 from the A44 through Charlbury. Another cracking Oxfordshire B road, the west section in particular is a riot of fast straights, sharp dips and blind crests, with loads of twists and turns along the way. Be careful coming up to the crossroad junctions though and slow down. Can be a bit tricky in the wet ***
139. B4022 north of Witney. Another good B road with dips, crests, and twisty stuff along the way. ***
140. B4026 and A361 south of Chipping Norton. More good country roads. **
141. B 4030 W from Bicester, B 4031 running parallel a few miles north. Yet more excellent B roads. **
142. B4507 Wantage to Ashbury. A pretty challenging B road, this one has a great mix of big dips and crests, winding sections with blind corners, short straights and a rough surface which puts a premium on grip especially in the wet. Very tough to overtake on, so best to go when it’s quiet. ****
143. B4494 Newbury to Wantage. Another good B road, reasonably good visibility, pretty fast in places. **
144. B4000/B4001 just north of Lambourn – nice B roads featuring some very fast sections, with good visibility and not much traffic. **
145. B4009 Newbury to Wendover. A good stretch of B road, marred by several 50 zones and too much traffic. Best at night. *
146. B480 Oxford to Henley. Can be busy at times, but another nice twisty B road. Try the nearby B481 too (watch for Gatsos as you approach reading though) **
147. A4155 Henley to Wooburn. Nice twisty A road, busy though so go at night or early in the morning. *
148. A355 Beaconsfield to Amersham. Excellent high speed sweeping A road, too busy so go at night. *
149. B4442 Chalfont St Giles to Little Chalfont. Fast twisty B road, best during quiet periods. **
150. B485 Great Missenden to Chesham. Another good B road near London *
151. B489/B488/B4506/A4146 between Aylesbury and Dunstable – good twisty country roads quite near to N London & Milton Keynes for any wage slaves out there **
152. B1368 Puckeridge to Hauxton nr Cambridge. A nice high speed B road with lots of fast corners and pleasant scenery – makes a great alternative route from London to Cambridge avoiding the overcrowded A10 and boring M11 **
153. A54 Congelton to Buxton – good alternative to the A537 Cat and Fiddle nr Buxton. ***
154. B6161 Otley to Harrogate – decent stretch of B road, one nice uphill stretch **
155. B6451 Otley to Summerbridge – excellent moorland B road, with a superb uphill stretch leading up to RAF Menwith Hills (with huge 200ft white “golf ball” listening stations) then a great stretch over the moors to Summerbridge. ***
156. B6160 Addingham to Newbiggin via Bolton Abbey. Superb Dales B road, very tight, very twisty, some nice climbs & descents, lovely scenery, can be busy in parts due to tourists. ***
157. The stretch of the A59 from Skipton to Harrogate has some superb fast moorland sections. **
158. B6265 Ripon to Skipton. Brilliant Dales B road, loads of sharp gradients, twists and turns, reasonable visibility and superb scenery. ***
159. B6255 Ingleton to Hawes - one of the best B roads in the country - loads of visibility, sharp twists and turns, open sweepers, high speed straights, climbs and descents, not too much traffic. ****
160. A683 north from Kirkby Lonsdale to the A685 - excellent A road, not usually too busy, loads of tight twisty bits, enough straights to overtake on. Watch for plod ***
161. Almost all the roads in the Lake District are good, but the place is so busy they are often hard to overtake on and huge convoys can build up. Go at night and you'll have a great time (can't be bothered writing down all the road numbers!)
162. B6413 Brampton to Penrith is a super B road, pretty quiet and resembles a rally stage in parts ***
163. B6318 Langholm to Greenhead. Superior to the Hadrians Wall section IMO, a good quiet B road with plenty of twists and some challenging uphill/downhill sections ***
164. B6320 Chollerford to Old town. Typical entertaining country road, not too much traffic. **
165. B1363 York to Oswaldkirk. Lovely Yorkshire B road, nice scenery and plenty of good sweeping bends with enough twisty stuff to keep you entertained. Can be busy. **
166. B1257 Helmsley to Stokesley. Frequently busy, but if you can find a quiet time, this is a superb road. Lots of entertaining twisty stuff, and some very fast sequences of bends and short straights with crests and dips that can be quite challenging. ***
167. B6278 Eggleston to Stanhope - and incredibly wild 12 mile stretch across isolated moorland. Superb visibility and 12 foot posts marking the side of the road mean very high speeds can be attained on the sweepers and straights, but there are also very slow challenging sections with up and downhill hairpin sequences, tight S bends and blind crests which make it look as though you are going to disappear off the face of the earth. Stunning. ****
168. A689 Bishop Auckland to Brampton. Fun and very fast long A road ***
169. B6277 Barnard Castle to Alston. Superb visibility, loads of challenging twists and turns, fast sections, tricky slower bits, massive variety, lovely scenery, and isolation all combine to give one of the best roads in Britain. ****
170. A68 Corbridge to Edinburgh. An excellent A road, marred only by traffic and the risk of plod. Great way to get up to Edinburgh, otherwise I'd stick to the quieter roads. **
171. A82 Glasgow to Inverness. Quite possibly the best touring road in Britain, this has stunning scenery, plenty of overtaking opportunities, some incredibly fast sections, but also excellent variety e.g. a very twisty section as you go up past Loch Lomond. Some of the highland sections almost beg you to test the top speed of your car, others will test your car's brakes and handling to the limit. Loads of fast open sweepers, superb visibility. An amazing road ****
172. A87 Invergarry to Uig on the Isle of Skye. Similar to the A82, but not quite as stunning, this is still a fantastic high speed road. ***
173. A850, A863, A855 all on the Isle of Skye. More high speed roads, but with slower more challenging twisty stuff too, and amazing scenery. ***
174. (S) B4391 SE of Bala has a hair-raising run down a twisty road with a wall of rock on one side and a spectacular drop on the other - ensure plastic seat covers in place and watch out for sheep! (note - suggested by Nigel A from scoobynet)
175. A4069 Llangadog to Brynaman - typical twisty country road, heading south into an even twistier steeply ascending hill road with a hairpin and excellent visibility. Suffers from narrowness and an unclear verge, short corners, too many sheep on the high speed sections, and you have to do repeated heavy braking from high speed on the steep downhill section, which is both dangerous and not much fun. Good but not great, and make sure your brakes are up to the job. ** (originally suggested by Nigel for this suggestion, he rates it as one of the UK's best roads, and swparks likes it more than me too)
176. A65 Kendal to Ilkley. A really superb A road, loads of twisty bits, fast open sweepers, dips and uphill stretches. Unfortunately very busy during the day, but late at night it is superb and very quiet. ***
177. A39 Minehead to Barnstaple. A great road going through the north part of Exmoor, with lovely scenery and some challenging parts esp the steep climbs and hairpins at Porlock and Lynmouth where you need a bit of power. ***
178. B3223 from Dulverton through Exmoor National Park. Another great road over the hills, this one a bit quieter and just as much fun, classic B road stuff. ***
179. B3224 E from Exford across the Brendon Hills. Another Exmoor classic with all the usual fun B road ingredients. ***
180. B3190 Watchet to Bampton. Not driven this one but I can tell it's fun just looking at the map! I'd appreciate a report, otherwise I'll drive it sometime soon and give my own verdict
181. B3135 Cheddar Gorge, just E of Cheddar. Very twisty and hard to overtake on, with nimbleness counting for more than outright grunt. Stunning scenery with massive cliff faces on either side of the road, and you can pop into the cheese shop half way through if you fancy a bite ***
182. (S) B4407 past Ysbyty Ifan (recommended as excellent by swparks from the Evo forum, reputedly great for jumps!)
183. (S) B4406 to Penmachno, then S on a C road through Carrog onto the B4407 (another swparks suggestion)
184. (S) B4391 E from Ffestiniog to the A4212 (swparks again)
185. (S) "B4389 south to Newtown. Another good road, but...not a real thriller." (swparks)
186. A4067 Ynyswen to Defynnog. An excellent fast road across the Brecon Beacons, lots of very high speed straights and long sweeping corners, with decent visibility. ***
187. (S) B5053 north from Froghall (suggested by Ben from the Evo forum)
188. (S) Single track road from the A5004 NW of Buxton
189. B5470 - another good Peak district road, can get a bit busy at times, but nice and twisty with plenty of dips and crests to entertain. ***
[This message has been edited by Neil Smalley (edited 31 May 2001).]
This list was compiled by Matt D mattd321@hotmail.com please send any commments new roads etc to him
1. (S) A41 south from Chester,then turn left at a small roundabout, east on the A534 to Nantwich
2. (S) The A494 Mold to Ruthin
3. (S) The Fosse Way heading south from Warwickshire area towards Chester. Also the road between Corwen and Bangor in Wales.
4. A5 west of Telford into Snowdonia – heavily ploddified with some Gatsos. Safer to wait until it gets twisty *
5. (S) The A1120 that runs between the A14 and A12 is a good drive. It's about 25 miles and winds through a few villages (lovely pubs!) but also offers challenging corners, steep descents and a few lovely straights. (Near Ipswich)
6. A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire – superb road, excellent tarmac, but very busy so best done at night or early in the morning. There’s a 50 stretch part way through which is popular with plod ***
7. (S) A814 ... Helensburgh to Arroch. This is actually a B road by any other name. It
twists, it turns it has up and downs, it's a roller coaster of a road. I drove it more
than 10 years ago, after getting lost, and still fondly remember the number of
times I said " Bloody hell" along it. The crowning feature though is if you
mistakenly take a right turn at the roundabout at the end of it... then you end up
crashing through the heavily armed sentries guarding Faslane nuclear submarine
base and being shot to death .. what a thrilling end to a great road!”
8. (S) A509 to wellingbrough. Pretty fast road but be warned it is now quite heavily plodified - above 66mph and you get done. (no longer recommended - take the nearby B526 instead)
9. The B526 off the A509 is not quite as fast but is more twisty, kess busy, and has less risk of unmarked plod cars. *
10. B4343 Tregaron to Devil’s Bridge in Wales, also the B4574 near Devil’s Bridge. Both classic Welsh B roads, very twisty, very quiet, beautiful scenery, but with nice road surfaces too. ***
11. B660 from Bedford to Peterborough aka “The Nurburgring”. The archetypal English country road, this one is a real challenge for car and driver. A tough mixture of twisty bits, fast ton-up open sweepers with good visibility, off camber bends, and atrocious road surfacing in parts make it very tricky in the wet so take care. Nice long straights at the north end with perfect visibility, punctuated with tight 90 degree turns which are ideal for low speed oversteer exits – excellent place to just floor it. Very bumpy though, see how fast you dare go before you start getting airborne (140 in my case). This is the only stretch of road where I’ve seen a 911 go slower than a Ford Focus. Plod starting to show up more round here so watch it ****
12. (S) B4525 between Banbury and the A43
13. The B645 St Neots to Higham Ferrers aka “Spa” – an excellent B road with lots of twisties, open sweepers, and the good visibility typical of Fenland roads. Similar to the B660 but a little more busy and not quite as epic. Watch for plod ***
14. B1443 Thorney to Glinton aka “The Mulsanne Straight”. If getting airborne in excess of 120 is your thing (and going fast without endangering other road users), this is the road for you. Once you get out of the villages, the road is straight for as far as the eye can see, and you can go as fast as you dare. Above 100 most cars will start jumping into the air over the very bumpy surface, so wait till the road is empty and put the car in the middle over the white lines to avoid stuffing it into a ditch, then put the pedal to the metal and cling on for dear life! ****
15. (S) B4116 (Atherstone/E Birmingham)
16. (S) A386 scottish highlands, best bit from Thurso to Ullapool
17. (S) Uxbridge to Slough on the (I think) A4020 - turn right off the dual carriageway at Black Park Country Park - that's a nice short 2-3 mile twisty
18. (S) Portsmouth: the best roads near here are those around Droxford, Clanfield, Hordean etc. The road from Chi to Selsey's not bad either
19. (S) S Wales – between St Clears and Kilgety (the forest stretch) and the old road next to the bypass.
20. (S) Denton/Wallaston (Bedford)
21. (S) Uxbridge area: Bangors lane from Iver to Iver Heath. Pinewood studios to Fulmer (near J2 of the M40).
22. (S) A525 Whitchurch to Wrexham
23. (S) Cardiff to Prestatyn
24. (S) A272
25. (S) A686 Penrith to Alston, Penrith to Heydon Bridge
26. (S) A59 Liverpool York
27. (S) South of France – col de Turini
28. (S) Coast road from Larne up to the North Antrim coast (Giants Causeway etc)
29. (S) A487 west coast of Wales (note – excellent scenery, a pretty fast road with lots of sweepers, unfortunately usually quite busy *)
30. A44 Oxford to Aberystwyth. One of the greatest touring roads in the UK, starting with gentle fast sweepers NW of Oxford, through lovely Cotswolds scenery, then becoming progressively more twisty (but still fast) as you approach Wales. The section from Llangurig going west through the mountains is superb and very fast. Road can be quite busy and is difficult to overtake on at times, so best late at night. ***
31. (S) Roads in NW of Scotland e.g. single track road north out of Lochinver
32. (S) Carronbridge to Bannockburn
33. (S) A93 from Perth to Braemar, then either past Balmoral to Banchory and hack to Stonehaven, then down the coast road to Dundee. Or much better up to Lecht, Tomintoul, Grantown and back south on the A9 (watch for Gatsos). (note – this is where Evo magazine did one of their car of the year tests)
34. (S) B1176 between Grantha, and Spalding (be careful at the middle bit to make sure you stay on the B1176)
35. (S) B1145 between King’s Lynn and Norwich which runs parallel to the A47.
36. (S) Road cutting through Thetford forest between Watton and the A11.
37. (S) Norwich to Mulbarton and beyond on the B1113, then turn off onto the B1135 when you see the sign for Lotus Cars. Follow the road till you hit the roundabout (A11) then turn round and come all the way back.”
38. (S) A701 Moffat to Blythe bridge in Scotland
39. (S) Meon Valley in Hampshire
40. (S) A456 from Birmingham, through Hagley, to Kidderminster
41. (S) A448 Halgey to Bromsgrove
42. (S) A4103 from Worcester to Hereford esp Frome’s hill
43. A49 Whitchurch to Hereford. Similar to the A44, but usually a little quieter. Another excellent sweeping, twisting A road with an excellent road surface. **
44. (S) "Buttertubs pass in the Yorkshire Dales" (note - a short C road from Hawes to Thwaite – superb and quite challenging with steep climbs & descents. Rated best road in Britain by Jeremy Clarkson ****)
45. (S) Cat & Fiddle run over in the Pennines on the A537 Buxton to Macclesfield (note – a superb twisty road with lots of short straights punctuated by sharp turns and several hairpins for practising your handbrake turns. Best done uphill west to east if your car has the power; E to W downhill can be hard on the brakes. Can get very busy. Unfortunately now very heavily plodified - including a plod spotter plane! So watch out and best to go in the small hours. Takes about 8 mins ***)
46. B6318 from Heddon on the Wall to Greenhead parallel to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. A very fast mainly straight road with LOTS of crests which you can jump off if you are brave/stupid enough to do so (many have poor visibility). When I went up there were about 2 or 3 humps that you could see over and were therefore safe to jump from. It is very easy to bottom out on this road too. IMO, too risky to other people to be a good road to go fast on. *
47. A481 NE of Builth Wells – another excellent sweeping A road, quite twisty in parts, with a few fast sweepers **
48. (S) A590 from M6 J36 to A5092 in the south of the Lake District
49. (S) A595 Carlisle to A5092 in the south of the Lake District
50. (S) A686 Haydon Bridge to Penrith
51. (S) B6232 Ramsbottom to Blackburn
52. (S) A515 Buxton to Ashbourne
53. (S) A6 Chapel-en-le-Frith bypass (note – a very fast road indeed through the hills & mountains. Good road surface, width and visibility. There is one section of incredibly fast sweepers you can take at silly speeds, there's even a “suicide” shared overtaking lane which comes in useful when the road is empty. Watch out for plod though because this is busy-ish during the day and a major A road in the area. Best done late at night. **)
54. (S) A404, A404(M), Maidenhead to High Wycombe (note – a dual carriageway therefore very risky due to plod. Not recommended unless you have fake plates or a foreign license!)
55. (S) A52 Nottingham to Boston
56. (S) A429 Warwick to Cirencester (note – again, a busy A road so law enforcement problems. Nice enough but nothing special *)
57. (S) A303 Andover to Ilminster
58. (S) A43 Duddington to Corby
59. (S) Ambleside to Broughton-in-Furness A593 (note –too busy during the day, otherwise an excellent well-surfaced road ***)
60. (S) A83 Arrochar to Inverary, particularly up Glen Croe, then down Glen Kinglas to Loch Fyne
61. (S) Peak District A5004 Buxton to Whaley Bridge
62. B6105 north of Glossop – a tough little B road, very twisty with some fast stretches ***
63. (S) A623 Tideswell moor road between Chapel and Stoney Middleton
64. (S) A7 Galashiels to Edinburgh (note – now reputedly gatsoed and quite heavily policed – I would appreciate more info on this from any locals)
65. (S) A4212 Bala to Trawsfynydd past Llyn Celyn resevoir
66. B4401 just NE of Bala going to Corwen – a good twisty B road with excellent road surfacing ***
67. (S) A272/283 Petersfield towards Brighton
68. (S) A360, A342 around Salisbury plain (note –quite fast in places, watch out for the tanks! *)
69. (S) B4100 Warwick to Banbury
70. (S) Isle of Wight A3055
71. (S) A74 Carlisle to Glasgow
72. (S) A31 Winchester to Guildford
73. (S) Unclassified from Ambleside to A592, then A592 to Ullswater
74. (S) B1098 in the fens behind Chatteris
75. (S) B1104 north of Newmarket
76. (S) A6121 Bourne to Stamford
77. A15 Bourne to Lincoln – fast road, can be busy, good visibility and a fair amount of twists and turns **
78. B4027 just north of Oxford – can get busy at rush hour, but otherwise a typical twisty English B road **
79. (S) A66 across the Pennines, Scotch Corner to Workington (note – very fast, and likely to attract law enforcement)
80. (S) B6254 (off A65)
81. A684 Kendal to Northallerton – superb Dales road, only marred by lack of overtaking opportunities and too much traffic in places. Superb variety, twisty corners, high speed sweepers, dips, crests, steep gradients and tight uphill turns. Like the rest of the Dales roads, watch out for plod in unmarked Scoobs ***
82. (S) A601 (M) (anyone know where this is?)
83. (S) A817 Loch Lomond to Garelochhead
84. (S) A169 Pickering to Whitby
85. (S) B5035 Cromford to Ashbourne
86. (S) B869 from Lochinver and back to the A894
87. A283 Mousehill to Boxgrove nr Chichester. The roads round here get very crowded and enforcement is relatively heavy, but this is a good local choice when it's quiet. *
88. A624 Peak district nr Glossop (note - good road, too much traffic though *)
89. (S) The small roads in the triangle formed by the A428, A509, & A45 can be fun.
90. (S) A507 west of Buntingford
91. B6479 N of Settle
92. (S) A9 in Scotland
93. (S) A701 from Moffat to Edinburgh is good fun. Going south there's a sign which says. 'Moffat 41 miles' Start the clock
94. (S) A23 Caterham bypass
95. (S) A835 from Cape Wrath to Ullapool
96. (S) A170 Thirsk to Scarborough (note – this is a very fast road, lots of great open sweepers. Quite heavy law enforcement now, so watch out). *
97. (S) B1176 Stamford to Grantham (a superb B road, not much traffic, listed as one of the top 5 roads in England by Car magazine. Very very twisty, with lots of dips and crests, and a couple of jumps, the only downside is poor visibility. There are a couple of tightening blind bends so be careful. Suggested by Ev from the Evo forum ***)
98. (S) A151 from Spalding west to the A1 (note – an nice A road, not too busy, lots of twists and turns, some nice sweeping bends, no gatsos **)
99. (S) B676 west of the A1 to Melton Mowbray (note – nice twisty B road, with one long bumpy striaght good for decent 3 figures, fairly good visibility **)
100. (S) Basingstoke to Alton A339 - I've received reports of heavy plodding & bikers white-lining here, so be careful.
101. (S) Strathaven to Muirkirk (A723) south of Glasgow.
102. (S) A592-the Helvellyn bit in particular (more details on this please!)
103. (S) A487 up the west coast of Wales to Balmoral and take the A939 (via 5 miles on the A976) up to Tomintoul, Grantown-on-Spey and Nairn
104. A286 Chichester to Mousehill. Another decent road in this part of the country, still suffers from business and plod though. *
105. (S) A414 Welwyn garden city to Hertford
106. (S) B5105 between Ruthin and Cerrigydrudion
107. (S) A339 Basingstoke to Alton, then B3006 on to Liss
108. (S) A31 between Guildford, Surrey and Southampton
109. (S) A458 from Stourbridge to Bridgnorth and into Wales ("a fair candidate for fun...although it is more a procession of moderate bends than the kind of entertainment offered further north" - swparks)
110. (S) Inverness. Follow the A835 from there to Ullapool, and then on up to Rhiconich (A894/A838 past Ullapool again go out along the A832 to Gairloch, and follow the loop around to Achnasheen. Turn off down the A890.
111. (S) Hindhead to Farnham in Surrey– 8 miles of A and B roads
112. (S) A422 from Worcester to Alcester. The final bit from the A441 to Alcester is bonkers
113. (S) A153 Horncastle to Louth in E Lincolnshire
114. (S) A529 from Nantwich through Market Drayton
115. (S) A169 Pickering to Whitby
116. B6270 – a superb road with not too much traffic, across the north Dales. Lots of climbs and descents, loads of twisty bits, not as many sweepers but all round a very good and quite challenging road with superb views and pretty good visibility. Quite often gets snow/ice being so high up. ***
117. (S) The Forest Drive through Dalby, N of York just off B1363 (note - thanks to Rich H from the Evo forum for this one)
118. (S) B1190 Lincoln to Horncastle
119. (S) A488 from Shrewsbury SW to Knighton
120. (S) B4355, B4356 west of Knighton (Wales)
121. (S) Beulah to Tregaron in Wales (note – one of the most difficult, scary, but exciting roads in the UK, part of it is nicknamed Devil’s Staircase and for good reason! It is all single track road, in many places so narrow that you have to concentrate just to keep the car from leaving the road. Loads of blind bends and crests, steep uphill hairpins, livestock in the middle of the road, 150ft drops to one side, and very limited visibility. Indistinguishable from a tough Welsh rally stage, and with oncoming traffic and no pace notes. Be very careful the first time you do it – watch out for foot&mouth disenfectant mats which have almost no grip and are v easy to skid on, slow down for the blind crests because some go sharp right or left and going 20mph could well send you off the side of a cliff, and be careful of one sharp left hander where the road appears to be going straight on up a gravelly path. Best done at night or in early morning, and you’ll find it hard to exceed 60mph the whole 20 odd miles. Thanks to Rsquire from scoobynet for this one ****)
122. (S) just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Cefn Coed to Talybont on Usk then on the B4558 to Llangynidr and back south to Brynmawr down the B4560 (note – not been on it yet but this is another one from Rsquire so look out! He says “Beware the right hand downhill hairpin at the top of the Torpantau.. Unless you like brown car seats. Again watch for oncoming traffic on summer weekends.")
123. (S) A4069, Llandovery to Brynamman
124. A543 NE from the A5 to Denbigh in N Wales – truly superb high speed moorland road, with loads of twists and turns, a great long uphill climb near the start, excellent visibility, long straights, dips and crests, one or two nice sweepers, a couple of near hairpins, and to top it off the scenery is lovely and there is a pub half way through to stop off for grub! Some of the corners are quite challenging especially in the wet, it’s common to see a car stuffed into a ditch here so be careful first time round. The second section is a bit more sedate but still a great twisty country road, albeit with less visibility. Best done going east to Denbigh ****
125. B4501 from Cerrigydrudion on the A5 north to the A543 – another stunning road, starting with a fast uphill straight, then a very twisty section with lots of dips and crests, and after this the road opens up into a sequence of extremely fast open sweepers which you can take as fast as you and your car will dare. Be careful not to overcook it because you are surrounded by trees and an off at those speeds will be nasty. The road then gets back into a nice short twisty stretch before finishing as it meets the A543, or you can take a right a bit before and stay on the B road. ****
126. A544 Llanfair Talhaiarn to Bylchau – a good twisty uphill stretch of A road. ***
127. A548 from Llanrwst on the A5 to Abergele – another typical twisty Welsh A road, with some nice high speed straights. ***
128. B5113 Pentrefoelas to Colwyn Bay – yet another excellent N Wales hill road ***
129. A470 – great in parts, a bit dull in others, this is still one of the best touring roads in the UK IMO, although more hardcore thrills can be found elsewhere. Contains a mixture of incredibly fast open sweepers, long straights, and also plenty of slate-walled twisties through Snowdonia national park where you can open the window and hear your engine/exhaust note reverberating through the forests. Drawbacks are heavy traffic, boring license-losing long straights and plod out in force, but there are plenty of overtaking spots, loads of variety and lovely scenery to boot. ***
130. B4518 Rhayader to Llanbrynmair – excellent Welsh B road, not heavily used, lots of twists and turns, climbs and descents, the usual stuff ***
131. B4519 Garth to Upper Chapel – stunning & very fast B road starting with a very twisty uphill ascent, then onto an MOD rifle range for some high speed open moorland charging. Great visibility, changing elevation and little traffic – watch out for the sheep. ****
132. (S) B4520 Brecon to Builth Wells. "I
really enjoyed the great surface, succession of corners and gently ups and downs" - swparks
133. A40 Fishguard to Islington – sadly infected with Gatsos and Sunday drivers on a lot of the English stretch, this is still one of the great UK touring roads, crossing almost the entire width of the country and having some superb stretches. The bit from the B4009 (just off the M40) to the Hellfire Club just out of High Wycombe has some great high speed sections, especially the bit with the fast uphill sweepers where there is an overtaking lane allowing you to pass on the outside, or use the full racing line. Pretty much all the single carriageway stretches of road west of Gloucester are good too, just watch out for plod. Keeps going all the way into central london almost right past my flat, so drop me a line if you’re going to be in the area! ***
134. A466 Monmouth to Chepstow – nice surface, twisty road past the banks of the river Wye & Tintern Abbey. Get's busy during the day though **
135. A4086 Capel Curig to Caernarfon (Pass of Llanberis) – another great Welsh A road through the mountains of Snowdonia ***
136. Fish Hill on the A44 near Broadway just E of Evesham. A very steep hill with a wide road and overtaking lane on the way up, featuring a long straight then a few bends, and finally a mad stretch with several tight bends and hairpins which you can take pretty quick (70-ish) especially if the road is empty and you use the full racing line. Be careful of the last two bends though, as the right hander tightens deceptively, and the final left hand hairpin is very sharp. There’s a roundabout at the bottom making it convenient to turn at the top, go downhill (be careful) and swing around to do it again. Watch out for plod. ****
137. B4035 Evesham to Banbury. Superb Cotswolds B road, lots of twists and turns, exciting bends, crests and dips. Only marred by weekend traffic and lack of overtaking places in parts. Road surface is quite poor making the road quite scary in the wet (aquaplane city). ***
138. B4437 from the A44 through Charlbury. Another cracking Oxfordshire B road, the west section in particular is a riot of fast straights, sharp dips and blind crests, with loads of twists and turns along the way. Be careful coming up to the crossroad junctions though and slow down. Can be a bit tricky in the wet ***
139. B4022 north of Witney. Another good B road with dips, crests, and twisty stuff along the way. ***
140. B4026 and A361 south of Chipping Norton. More good country roads. **
141. B 4030 W from Bicester, B 4031 running parallel a few miles north. Yet more excellent B roads. **
142. B4507 Wantage to Ashbury. A pretty challenging B road, this one has a great mix of big dips and crests, winding sections with blind corners, short straights and a rough surface which puts a premium on grip especially in the wet. Very tough to overtake on, so best to go when it’s quiet. ****
143. B4494 Newbury to Wantage. Another good B road, reasonably good visibility, pretty fast in places. **
144. B4000/B4001 just north of Lambourn – nice B roads featuring some very fast sections, with good visibility and not much traffic. **
145. B4009 Newbury to Wendover. A good stretch of B road, marred by several 50 zones and too much traffic. Best at night. *
146. B480 Oxford to Henley. Can be busy at times, but another nice twisty B road. Try the nearby B481 too (watch for Gatsos as you approach reading though) **
147. A4155 Henley to Wooburn. Nice twisty A road, busy though so go at night or early in the morning. *
148. A355 Beaconsfield to Amersham. Excellent high speed sweeping A road, too busy so go at night. *
149. B4442 Chalfont St Giles to Little Chalfont. Fast twisty B road, best during quiet periods. **
150. B485 Great Missenden to Chesham. Another good B road near London *
151. B489/B488/B4506/A4146 between Aylesbury and Dunstable – good twisty country roads quite near to N London & Milton Keynes for any wage slaves out there **
152. B1368 Puckeridge to Hauxton nr Cambridge. A nice high speed B road with lots of fast corners and pleasant scenery – makes a great alternative route from London to Cambridge avoiding the overcrowded A10 and boring M11 **
153. A54 Congelton to Buxton – good alternative to the A537 Cat and Fiddle nr Buxton. ***
154. B6161 Otley to Harrogate – decent stretch of B road, one nice uphill stretch **
155. B6451 Otley to Summerbridge – excellent moorland B road, with a superb uphill stretch leading up to RAF Menwith Hills (with huge 200ft white “golf ball” listening stations) then a great stretch over the moors to Summerbridge. ***
156. B6160 Addingham to Newbiggin via Bolton Abbey. Superb Dales B road, very tight, very twisty, some nice climbs & descents, lovely scenery, can be busy in parts due to tourists. ***
157. The stretch of the A59 from Skipton to Harrogate has some superb fast moorland sections. **
158. B6265 Ripon to Skipton. Brilliant Dales B road, loads of sharp gradients, twists and turns, reasonable visibility and superb scenery. ***
159. B6255 Ingleton to Hawes - one of the best B roads in the country - loads of visibility, sharp twists and turns, open sweepers, high speed straights, climbs and descents, not too much traffic. ****
160. A683 north from Kirkby Lonsdale to the A685 - excellent A road, not usually too busy, loads of tight twisty bits, enough straights to overtake on. Watch for plod ***
161. Almost all the roads in the Lake District are good, but the place is so busy they are often hard to overtake on and huge convoys can build up. Go at night and you'll have a great time (can't be bothered writing down all the road numbers!)
162. B6413 Brampton to Penrith is a super B road, pretty quiet and resembles a rally stage in parts ***
163. B6318 Langholm to Greenhead. Superior to the Hadrians Wall section IMO, a good quiet B road with plenty of twists and some challenging uphill/downhill sections ***
164. B6320 Chollerford to Old town. Typical entertaining country road, not too much traffic. **
165. B1363 York to Oswaldkirk. Lovely Yorkshire B road, nice scenery and plenty of good sweeping bends with enough twisty stuff to keep you entertained. Can be busy. **
166. B1257 Helmsley to Stokesley. Frequently busy, but if you can find a quiet time, this is a superb road. Lots of entertaining twisty stuff, and some very fast sequences of bends and short straights with crests and dips that can be quite challenging. ***
167. B6278 Eggleston to Stanhope - and incredibly wild 12 mile stretch across isolated moorland. Superb visibility and 12 foot posts marking the side of the road mean very high speeds can be attained on the sweepers and straights, but there are also very slow challenging sections with up and downhill hairpin sequences, tight S bends and blind crests which make it look as though you are going to disappear off the face of the earth. Stunning. ****
168. A689 Bishop Auckland to Brampton. Fun and very fast long A road ***
169. B6277 Barnard Castle to Alston. Superb visibility, loads of challenging twists and turns, fast sections, tricky slower bits, massive variety, lovely scenery, and isolation all combine to give one of the best roads in Britain. ****
170. A68 Corbridge to Edinburgh. An excellent A road, marred only by traffic and the risk of plod. Great way to get up to Edinburgh, otherwise I'd stick to the quieter roads. **
171. A82 Glasgow to Inverness. Quite possibly the best touring road in Britain, this has stunning scenery, plenty of overtaking opportunities, some incredibly fast sections, but also excellent variety e.g. a very twisty section as you go up past Loch Lomond. Some of the highland sections almost beg you to test the top speed of your car, others will test your car's brakes and handling to the limit. Loads of fast open sweepers, superb visibility. An amazing road ****
172. A87 Invergarry to Uig on the Isle of Skye. Similar to the A82, but not quite as stunning, this is still a fantastic high speed road. ***
173. A850, A863, A855 all on the Isle of Skye. More high speed roads, but with slower more challenging twisty stuff too, and amazing scenery. ***
174. (S) B4391 SE of Bala has a hair-raising run down a twisty road with a wall of rock on one side and a spectacular drop on the other - ensure plastic seat covers in place and watch out for sheep! (note - suggested by Nigel A from scoobynet)
175. A4069 Llangadog to Brynaman - typical twisty country road, heading south into an even twistier steeply ascending hill road with a hairpin and excellent visibility. Suffers from narrowness and an unclear verge, short corners, too many sheep on the high speed sections, and you have to do repeated heavy braking from high speed on the steep downhill section, which is both dangerous and not much fun. Good but not great, and make sure your brakes are up to the job. ** (originally suggested by Nigel for this suggestion, he rates it as one of the UK's best roads, and swparks likes it more than me too)
176. A65 Kendal to Ilkley. A really superb A road, loads of twisty bits, fast open sweepers, dips and uphill stretches. Unfortunately very busy during the day, but late at night it is superb and very quiet. ***
177. A39 Minehead to Barnstaple. A great road going through the north part of Exmoor, with lovely scenery and some challenging parts esp the steep climbs and hairpins at Porlock and Lynmouth where you need a bit of power. ***
178. B3223 from Dulverton through Exmoor National Park. Another great road over the hills, this one a bit quieter and just as much fun, classic B road stuff. ***
179. B3224 E from Exford across the Brendon Hills. Another Exmoor classic with all the usual fun B road ingredients. ***
180. B3190 Watchet to Bampton. Not driven this one but I can tell it's fun just looking at the map! I'd appreciate a report, otherwise I'll drive it sometime soon and give my own verdict
181. B3135 Cheddar Gorge, just E of Cheddar. Very twisty and hard to overtake on, with nimbleness counting for more than outright grunt. Stunning scenery with massive cliff faces on either side of the road, and you can pop into the cheese shop half way through if you fancy a bite ***
182. (S) B4407 past Ysbyty Ifan (recommended as excellent by swparks from the Evo forum, reputedly great for jumps!)
183. (S) B4406 to Penmachno, then S on a C road through Carrog onto the B4407 (another swparks suggestion)
184. (S) B4391 E from Ffestiniog to the A4212 (swparks again)
185. (S) "B4389 south to Newtown. Another good road, but...not a real thriller." (swparks)
186. A4067 Ynyswen to Defynnog. An excellent fast road across the Brecon Beacons, lots of very high speed straights and long sweeping corners, with decent visibility. ***
187. (S) B5053 north from Froghall (suggested by Ben from the Evo forum)
188. (S) Single track road from the A5004 NW of Buxton
189. B5470 - another good Peak district road, can get a bit busy at times, but nice and twisty with plenty of dips and crests to entertain. ***
[This message has been edited by Neil Smalley (edited 31 May 2001).]
31 May 2001, 09:04 AM
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Can't think of any others off hands, but
A couple of points:
92 - Lots of cameras springing up south of Inverness
171 - Beware of sheep, fences have not been invented in this part of the world. Crowded with tourists in the summer.
A couple of points:
92 - Lots of cameras springing up south of Inverness
171 - Beware of sheep, fences have not been invented in this part of the world. Crowded with tourists in the summer.
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31 May 2001, 01:21 PM
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Ulpha fel Road in the Lakes that connects Broughton-In-Furness to Gossforth near Selafield or Corrnie fell Road. These roads are not for the shy or those who don't like the cars going light mid corner.
The Goyet Valley road on the one way section that takes you to the Cat and Fiddle is a great section of road and no traffic coming the other way. This section of road was used as a closed section in the good old days of road rallying.
Bonisall lane from the Unicorn Pub in Wilmslow to the Silk road in Macc is another good road.
Darren.
The Goyet Valley road on the one way section that takes you to the Cat and Fiddle is a great section of road and no traffic coming the other way. This section of road was used as a closed section in the good old days of road rallying.
Bonisall lane from the Unicorn Pub in Wilmslow to the Silk road in Macc is another good road.
Darren.
31 May 2001, 01:28 PM
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Excellent post, but hust one query: "71. (S) A74 Carlisle to Glasgow"
Isn't this a motorway? - v.fast usually, but not enough qualification to be a really great driving road?
Steve
Isn't this a motorway? - v.fast usually, but not enough qualification to be a really great driving road?
Steve
31 May 2001, 01:33 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by andym172:
<B>To be fair Neil, you should have included who's list it is!
It's Matt_d's off both the EVO forum and this forum.
I think he has a few plans for the list, so keep a look out!
Andy.[/quote]
Sorry Matt,
Just saw the feel free to use it bit of the post and somehow missed the rest 
This list was compiled by Matt D mattd321@hotmail.com
Anyway as you can see the list is growing.
[This message has been edited by Neil Smalley (edited 31 May 2001).]
<B>To be fair Neil, you should have included who's list it is!
It's Matt_d's off both the EVO forum and this forum.
I think he has a few plans for the list, so keep a look out!
Andy.[/quote]
Sorry Matt,
Just saw the feel free to use it bit of the post and somehow missed the rest This list was compiled by Matt D mattd321@hotmail.com
Anyway as you can see the list is growing.
[This message has been edited by Neil Smalley (edited 31 May 2001).]
31 May 2001, 01:39 PM
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Millband, I thought that as well, 
maybe that's the M74, and there is an A road I have never noticed that runs along side it? Will have to check the road atlas I guess
maybe that's the M74, and there is an A road I have never noticed that runs along side it? Will have to check the road atlas I guess
31 May 2001, 05:05 PM
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actually, the M74 is a breath of fresh air after 4 hours in the car from london (I drive it a lot). Suddenly there are no gatsos and policemen have to be in pairs in order to give you a ticket *
there is usually very little traffic and you can take the racing line on the corners. Easy to keep above 100mph - not that I'd ever dream of that of course.
rd
* collaborative evidence (scotland has adopted euro human rights act)
there is usually very little traffic and you can take the racing line on the corners. Easy to keep above 100mph - not that I'd ever dream of that of course.
rd
* collaborative evidence (scotland has adopted euro human rights act)
31 May 2001, 06:31 PM
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Hehe, I was just about to ask if people wanted me to post this list on scoobynet, looks like you beat me to it Neil! It's at #190 now, looks like there are a few others I'll have to add. I'll repost the original in just a minute.
31 May 2001, 06:36 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mark Champion:
<B>A1120 near Ipswich at number 5! Blimey.
Another good road is the A1071 between Ipswich and Sudbury. Nasty road if you get it wrong however.[/quote]
It's not in any particular order!
<B>A1120 near Ipswich at number 5! Blimey.
Another good road is the A1071 between Ipswich and Sudbury. Nasty road if you get it wrong however.[/quote]
It's not in any particular order!
31 May 2001, 06:39 PM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by TelBoy:
<B>What do the asterixes relate to? Is that a rating scheme, i.e. **** = best?
Terry[/quote]
Yes, the ratings go from * for a fun road, up to **** for one of the best roads in the UK, based on the whole road (e.g. the A40 has some really crap sections, but the road as a whole is a great one IMO).
<B>What do the asterixes relate to? Is that a rating scheme, i.e. **** = best?
Terry[/quote]
Yes, the ratings go from * for a fun road, up to **** for one of the best roads in the UK, based on the whole road (e.g. the A40 has some really crap sections, but the road as a whole is a great one IMO).
31 May 2001, 06:51 PM
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You've missed one 
Theres a great road called Universty Way between Greenhithe(Bluewater), over the M25 @J1, and on to the other side Dartford.
Its all 2 lanes with 130mph straights and about 5 70mph roundabouts
Scott
Theres a great road called Universty Way between Greenhithe(Bluewater), over the M25 @J1, and on to the other side Dartford.
Its all 2 lanes with 130mph straights and about 5 70mph roundabouts
Scott
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