I had a search to see if I could find any previous threads on good driving roads. No doubt it's been covered before and my search skills are letting me down! So, for those of you who like to take the car out on a Sunday morning for no other reason than to drive it, where are your favourite roads?
This year I've managed to get out in my 440i a couple of times, with my brother in his Octavia VRS, and from Newcastle we've been checking out various roads in the North Pennines.
A686: Penrith to Haydon Bridge
This was the first road we found as it's recommended quite a lot online. From Newcastle you can get there pretty quickly by heading down the A69. From Haydon Bridge to Alston is fantastic. The road is reasonably wide, decent visibility and lots of bends. At 6am there is no traffic whatsoever. It initially starts off building elevation slowly through valleys. It then has a couple of hairpin switch backs which are great fun before climbing up into the Pennines then down into a valley at the head of the South Tyne at Alston. From there it climbs up to (the now unfortunately burnt down) Hartside Cafe which is an utterly fantastic piece of road. Great surface, lots of 3rd gear corners, and great visibility. You can park up at the top for some fantastic views. From there, you can descend the other side to Melmerby. Lots of switchbacks and 2nd gear corners. Great fun early in the morning before traffic starts to build. At Melmerby I turn round and do the climb in reverse. From there I tend to head back down to Alston for some other great roads.
B6277: Alston to Middleton in Teesdale
This road is faster than the A686, with better visibility, and faster more sweeping corners. It climbs out of Alston south up into the hills, then reaches the head of the Tees, and flows down the valley into Middleton in Teesdale past High Force. Really fun road, especially after crossing from Cumbria into County Durham where the road surface improves significantly. The first half is better than the second. Once you're past High Force there are a few more blind bends and small villages to contend with. The views from the top of the Teesdale before you descend are fantastic.
B6276: Middleton in Teesdale to Brough
Discovered this road on our most recent outing. No traffic. Fast sweeping corners. Technical sections. Superb visibility of the road ahead. Great challenge in a car, at legal speeds. Purely for driving this road is now I think my favourite.
B6278: Middleton in Teesdale to Stanhope
Clearly I think all car enthusiasts should move to Middleton in Teesdale, as no matter which way you leave the village there is a fantastic road available. This one runs north to Stanhope. Henry Catchpole shot a decent portion of his Porsche GT2 RS video for Carfection on this road. This is another road that is plenty wide, has good visibility, and more sweeping 3rd gear corners.
We're planning on drives to the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors in the summer (wanting no traffic we reach the driving roads at dawn, so we've not ventured too far yet). I've seen a few videos (Buttertubs in the Dales, Blakey Ridge in the Moors?) but I'm keen to hear of other people's recommendations. Ultimately this will all end with a trip to the NC500 we're planning for next year but just looking at adventures for the day at the moment.
This year I've managed to get out in my 440i a couple of times, with my brother in his Octavia VRS, and from Newcastle we've been checking out various roads in the North Pennines.
A686: Penrith to Haydon Bridge
This was the first road we found as it's recommended quite a lot online. From Newcastle you can get there pretty quickly by heading down the A69. From Haydon Bridge to Alston is fantastic. The road is reasonably wide, decent visibility and lots of bends. At 6am there is no traffic whatsoever. It initially starts off building elevation slowly through valleys. It then has a couple of hairpin switch backs which are great fun before climbing up into the Pennines then down into a valley at the head of the South Tyne at Alston. From there it climbs up to (the now unfortunately burnt down) Hartside Cafe which is an utterly fantastic piece of road. Great surface, lots of 3rd gear corners, and great visibility. You can park up at the top for some fantastic views. From there, you can descend the other side to Melmerby. Lots of switchbacks and 2nd gear corners. Great fun early in the morning before traffic starts to build. At Melmerby I turn round and do the climb in reverse. From there I tend to head back down to Alston for some other great roads.
B6277: Alston to Middleton in Teesdale
This road is faster than the A686, with better visibility, and faster more sweeping corners. It climbs out of Alston south up into the hills, then reaches the head of the Tees, and flows down the valley into Middleton in Teesdale past High Force. Really fun road, especially after crossing from Cumbria into County Durham where the road surface improves significantly. The first half is better than the second. Once you're past High Force there are a few more blind bends and small villages to contend with. The views from the top of the Teesdale before you descend are fantastic.
B6276: Middleton in Teesdale to Brough
Discovered this road on our most recent outing. No traffic. Fast sweeping corners. Technical sections. Superb visibility of the road ahead. Great challenge in a car, at legal speeds. Purely for driving this road is now I think my favourite.
B6278: Middleton in Teesdale to Stanhope
Clearly I think all car enthusiasts should move to Middleton in Teesdale, as no matter which way you leave the village there is a fantastic road available. This one runs north to Stanhope. Henry Catchpole shot a decent portion of his Porsche GT2 RS video for Carfection on this road. This is another road that is plenty wide, has good visibility, and more sweeping 3rd gear corners.
We're planning on drives to the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moors in the summer (wanting no traffic we reach the driving roads at dawn, so we've not ventured too far yet). I've seen a few videos (Buttertubs in the Dales, Blakey Ridge in the Moors?) but I'm keen to hear of other people's recommendations. Ultimately this will all end with a trip to the NC500 we're planning for next year but just looking at adventures for the day at the moment.
