Maybe it was my childhood holidays from Cheshire to Cornwall and family driving holidays to France, but I do love a road trip. Over the years I’ve done Manchester to Monte Carlo, the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to San Diego and round through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe and back to San Francisco. Now with kids in tow our annual staycation in Cornwall from Cheshire is a 600 mile round trip that is as much a part of the adventure as the fortnight in the middle.
Road trips are good for the soul. It doesn’t matter where you are heading road trips always include great tunes, laughing, singing, and talking. Making memories on the way to the final destination. One of the best things about road trips is that they don’t have to be long, you don’t have to go far away or for a long time. My last road trip to a conference in Coventry was less than two hours but I was giddy to get back in the car afterwards to continue to fun times! An overnight trip, or just a few hours as a round trip, can create the break from the norm, a change of scenery and create distance between the daily grind, habits, stresses, and never-ending to-do list.
Before you go make sure your car is ready for the miles ahead and reduce the chance of a breakdown. A visit to your local Kwik Fit to get a pre-road trip service and your tyres, bulbs, batteries, coolant, oil and screenwash all checked and topped up before you hit the road, is time and money well spent. Then it’s a case of making sure your CD’s or playlists are ready. Snacks? Check. Map? Check (Sat Nav’s do lose function in remote spaces – take a map)! Camera? Check.
So where to? Here’s 10 stunningly scenic roads to discover across the globe.
1. The Snake Pass – Cheshire and Yorkshire, England
2. Pacific Coast Highway One – San Francisco to LA
3. Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Austria
5. Cheddar Gorge – Somerset, England
6. Trollstigen, Norway
7. Ring of Kerry, Ireland
8. A82 Glencoe – Lanarkshire and Dunbarton, Scotland
9. Route One, Iceland
10. Spoleto to Norcia, Italy