Driving around to visit the corners of the United Kingdom in the summer should not be considered your Plan B holidays. Great Britain is not only London. Today we look at the best British road trips for the warmest months of the year, when blue skies showcase picturesque and green landscapes. Be sure to pack your camera!

Snowdonia

Manchester or Liverpool are probably your best base camp as our first destination is Snowdonia National Park, in Wales. The National Park is of course a favourite winter destination for skiers, but in the summer, the medium-high peaks are lush with green. The rugged heights offer breathtaking views on small mountain lakes and calm skies.

Park the car and walk smaller roads. The fields are fenced with stone walls and the hills will remind you of the west coast of Ireland.

Scotland

The most beautiful routes are in the North of the United Kingdom. You can start your exploration of Scotland from Edinburgh or Glasgow. If you choose the Clyde and follow the west coast, you can decide on a picturesque ferry crossing to Dunoon and visit the fine bone china kiln before entering the Loch Lomond National Park. Ferries are also a great way to reach islands like Arran, Jura or Skye and sample authentic whiskies.

Some roads are really narrow, and will test your driving skills, so consider getting some practice with left-hand traffic before you start. The Loch Lomond lake itself (“Loch” is Gaelic for lake) is the largest by surface area in the British Isles and 36 kilometres long.

It is a glacial lake that was formed when the glaciers retreated and carved hard into the rock. Depending on how much time you have, you can choose to proceed north through Cairngorns National Park and maybe to Inverness and the Loch Ness or head east towards Saint Andrews, the birthplace of golf, before going back to Edinburgh.

Lake District

On your way back to Liverpool, you will drive through the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017. The only towns in the Lake District are carefully preserved small villages along the valleys and charming little roads that connect spectacular mountains. The Lake District is like time travelling to pre industrial England. These romantic surroundings will certainly allow you to spend quality time with your significant other.

Leave the car and go on a cruise on the lakes (Windermere and Ullswater are almost 15 kilometres long) as it is a very popular activity.

The Lake District is also home to tasty regional dishes such as the Cumberland sausage and the Tatie Pot.

Yorkshire

Yorkshire has not one but two National Parks to offer. Next to the Lake District Park we have just mentioned is the Yorkshire Dale National Park and then nearer York itself you will find North York Moors National Park.

The beautiful landscapes of England are not dramatic. They are peaceful, serene, and the small villages and hills of North York are no exception. Its fields are dotted with sheep, and it’s no wonder Yorkshire was chosen as the setting for several British television shows in the 1970s.

If you come from America or Australia, Yorkshire will probably look like a postcard to you, and it is by choice that the place has been preserved as it was.

Northern Ireland

Back in Liverpool, the ferry can take you across the Irish Sea to Dublin or Belfast. Let our wheels take us to Ulster this time. We recommend renting a car locally as it may prove more economical than the ferry for a short stay.

The night ferry will take you to Belfast, home of HMS Titanic. County Antrim is notable for the world famous Giant’s Causeway, a specific layout of basalt columns, just a few kilometres north of Bushmills, on A26 north of Belfast.


More recently, the Dark Hedges of Stranocum (also in Co. Antrim) have attracted a lot of attention in the HBO show Game of Thrones, among other locations in Northern Ireland.

South of Belfast the A2 road through Newcastle will take you to the Mourne mountains, a barren land of hostile beauty. This road will also allow you a short visit to Downpatrick, said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick.

The weather in Britain is very rightly better in summer, although some of the locations and road trip routes described above are very charming even under the more cloudy skies of autumn. Road assistance in the United Kingdom is very efficient but still, do make sure your vehicle is in good condition before you hit the road.