When the sun is shining, there’s no better time to get out there and enjoy your MG.
Whether it’s a vintage M-Type, the ubiquitous MGB or Midget, or a more modern MGF or TF, long summer evenings and bright days are the perfect conditions in which to make the most of your great British sports car.
Before you set off, make sure you give your car a full check over and perhaps take advantage of MGOC Spares’ service kit offers, which contain all you need to make sure your MG is good to go.
Here are our top five best British road routes – we’d be delighted to hear your own recommendations!
North Coast 500
If you do one drive in Britain during your life, make it the North Coast 500. The 516-mile route – named by the local tourist board as the NC 500 in 2015 - is truly one of the most breath-taking drives of your life, taking in magnificent scenery, amazing twisting roads and some of the steepest inclines and most daredevil descents that the UK has to offer.
Working clockwise, the route starts at Inverness Castle and runs via Beauly, Muir of Ord, Applecross, Gairloch, Ullapool, Scourie, Durness, Castle of Mey, Thurso, John o' Groats, Wick, Dunrobin Castle, Dingwall then back to Beauly and Inverness.
It has a number of standouts, but the old drover’s track - the Bealach na Bà – across the Applecross Peninsula is the most incredible, albeit not for the faint-hearted. Be sure to also check out the remarkable Kylescue Bridge and the amazing almost lunar landscape of Sutherland.
Be aware of the local courtesies though – try not to travel in large convoys and make sure you give way to the locals, as they tend not to yield. To find out more, visit the official NC500 site here.
Atlantic Highway
Cornwall and Devon are popular holiday locations in the UK for a very good reason as they’re amazing places to go and witness some of the finest scenery the UK has to offer.
In recent times, the region has also developed a touring route of its own in the form of the Atlantic Highway, which is formed from what used to be the main A39 trunk road across the two counties, now no longer such a busy route since the opening of the A30 dual carriageway.
The route stretches all the way from the Devon border into Cornwall's north-eastern fringes with a host of impressive coves and beaches to explore and some of the most majestic sunsets you’ll ever see.
Highlights include the chocolate box village beauty of Boscastle, Tintagel Castle and at the northern end of the route, Porlock Hill, which is the steepest A-road in the United Kingdom, approaching 1 in 4 in places. A more gentle toll road runs parallel if you don’t want your MG to get too hot under the collar!
North Yorkshire Moors 200
Hot on the heels of the NC 500 came the NY 200, as Yorkshire tried to cash in on the burgeoning road trip trend. And not without good reason, as the North Yorkshire Moors have loads to offer.
Popularised on Instagram, the route across the Moors takes in deep forests and vast swathes of heather moorland that changes colour with the seasons, making for a truly spectacular road trip.
Go via the A170 towards Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale and you can pop in on Mathewson’s Auctions, famous for the TV show Bangers and Cash, then fork off onto the A169 through Goathland to visit the set of the TV Show, Heartbeat, and Grosmont, home to theNorth Yorkshire Moors Railway, finishing off in Whitby for scampi and chips in the harbour where Dracula famously came ashore. The best bit? You can easily cover it all off in a weekend.
Bala and Snowdonia
North Wales is home to some of the most incredible and diverse scenery in the British Isles, in addition to some of its most sensational driving roads, but it’s through the Snowdonia National Park where things are truly at their best.
Made popular by the performance car magazine, Evo, the area around Lake Bala offers some of the most testing, exciting and sweeping roads in the UK.
Take the A543 exit off the main A5 trunk road near Betwys-Y-Coed and head right towards Lynn Brennig, then turn right onto the B4501 with some incredible views over the lake. The road then leads you back to the A5 through the picturesque village of Cerrigydrudion and back to where you started – it’s a short route, but a great couple of hours of fun for the driving enthusiast.
If you want to make a weekend of it, head west from Lake Bala and down the A470, through Blaenau Ffestiniog and through the Coed Y Brenin Forest Park, and head down to the coast at Barmouth where there are a selection of fantastic food pubs.
Peak District
The Peak District is the biggest National Park in England and also the UK’s very first, renowned for its rolling hills and sleepy dales.
It’s also home to three amazing roads, which you can cover off in a day. The sleepy spa town of Buxton is a great place to start, heading across to Macclesfield on the A537, more commonly known as the Cat and Fiddle after the pub that resides close to its peak.
This route is full of hairpin bends and sudden twists, with the road climbing up above the reservoirs for some amazing views – but it needs to be treated with respect.
Head back and down to Peak Forest, where you can pick up the route to Castleton, accessed by the short but spine-tingling Winnats Pass – a delightful and steep drop down through a limestone gorge, and the perfect opportunity to stop and explore the Peak District’s famous caverns, of which three are within the Castleton boundaries.
Then, head north on the A6013 towards Snake Pass – also known as the A57 – renowned for being one of the best driving roads in England. The route crosses the Pennines, with sharp bends and blind summits as you drive towards the highest point before finishing for a well-earned cuppa at the Ladybower Reservoir.
A weekend in the Peaks allows you to try all three routes, and experience some fantastic hospitality to boot.
Before you set off...
Make sure you have made appropriate checks and that you have everything you need before you depart. See our basic necessities checklist below:
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