The ultimate UK road trip guide

Say road trip and America’s open highways probably spring to mind. But while the UK might not have Route 66 or the Pacific Coast Highway, there’s plenty of spectacular scenery to enjoy without needing to pack your passport.

And when you’re travelling as a family, that means no flights and no baggage restrictions either… Here’s my guide to the perfect UK road trip.

Check out my complete set of road trip tips – everything from planning a road trip with kids to a family road trip packing list, the best road trip snacks and road trip activities for kids

Where to go

1. The Atlantic Highway

Sweeping coastal roads aren’t limited to California’s Pacific Coast Highway. The more prosaically named A39 passes through some of the loveliest scenery in the South West with crashing ocean and ever wilder countryside along its 135 miles.

You’re spoiled for choice for stops, with rocky beaches at Ilfracombe and Combe Martin, the villages of the Quantocks, Tintagel’s ruins, and Cornish surfing towns.

2. Scotland’s 12 National Tourist Routes

These dozen route make it easy to explore Scotland, especially the stunning Highlands. The further north you venture, the more remote and unspoiled the landscape, but for a more accessible drive, try the Moray Coastal Route.

Following an 80-mile semi-circle from Inverness, it wends around three lovely inlets before heading to the heart of the northern Highlands. Make sure you stop at the Struie viewpoint over the Dornoch Firth.

The NC500 is probably the best known – for good reason! – and there’s so much to discover along the 500-mile drive too. With younger kids, discover the legends of dragons, hunt for sea glass and spot the wonderful wildlife including dolphins off the coast. For a summer adventure, these NC500 wild swimming spots are the perfect places to dive in on a sunny day, from lochs to secluded beaches.

3. Hop on a ferry to the Isle of Man

Here you can drive around the island’s whole 75 miles of coastline. Start at the capital, Douglas, with an anti-clockwise route giving the driver the best views of woods running down to the sea, plus Snaefell mountain.

Make a pitstop at Castletown to enjoy the harbour.

4. Penrith to Haydon Bridge

With incredible views, the route from has been named by the AA as one of the best drives in the world. Following the A686, you climb to Membery where you can see to the Solway Firth on a clear day, before passing through Alston, England’s highest market town.

After heading over the Pennines, it’s downhill to Haydon Bridge – with Hadrian’s Wall nearby.

When to go

It goes without saying to avoid rush hour but if you’ll be driving along less scenic stretches of motorway before you hit the good bits, try to time it when young children are napping.

And get clever with breaks. It’s wise to stop every few hours anyway, but when you factor in bored kids plus toilet and meal stops, you’ll need some places to pull over. Plan the journey so you’ll hit somewhere interesting at lunchtime, to explore as well as eating.

What to take

However wonderful the scenery, don’t even consider a long car journey with kids without some other entertainment – whether it’s DVDs and audiobooks, or old-fashioned games like I Spy, landmark spotting and counting the legs on pub signs.

Prepare for emergencies – pack provisions for between meals, especially water and healthy snacks. If anyone suffers from travel sickness, keep ginger biscuits and anti-nausea tablets to hand, as well as a change of clothes and some sealable plastic bags… just in case.

With younger children, a travel potty is a good idea, along with a good stash of wet wipes.

Don’t forget to give the car a check over before a long journey, as well as ensuring you’ll be rescued if there are problems.