[Guest]

Yesterday and today I have had to drive from South Wales to Mid Wales for my eldest daughter. This is one of my favourite drives straight out into the Welsh countryside were there is very little traffic (the road were just about completely empty of any traffic yesterday) I love every mile I drive on these roads. There are hardly any straights just sweeping corners running into each other for mile after mile.
The roads I used are often only one car wide which really adds to the sense of speed as the hedges rush by when travelling within the speed limit (60) So I thought everybody on the SlotForum must have a favourite journey So what are they?

Mine is from, Caerleon to Aberystwyth though Usk, Abergavenny, Talgarth, Buith Wells, Rhayadar over the mountain road to Devil's Bridge and on to Aberystwyth

RR

 

[Fergy]

Many miles from YOUR drives, but:

The roads leading into, around, and out of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. Particularly the less travelled roads. Mountainous terrain, roads with multiple switchbacks, off-camber and blind curves, etc. Wild stuff in some places, like 18" high stone walls that are the only thing separating you from a plunge into oblivion down the side of a mountain! Even at legal speeds, there are places where you aren't human if you don't have white knuckles!

Also, USA highway 1 on the Oregon coast. Breathtaking views, and enough twists, turns and hills to satisfy the hungriest of drivers. Actually, Oregon has several "scenic" roads, the best of which are the ones that very few take because the towns are few and far between - many are an endless chain of curves, hills, and scenery that leaves you in awe.

Unfortunately, here in my part of Canada, with only a few, very short exceptions, they build roads for people that want to get from point A to point B without turning the steering wheel or adjusting their speed....

And I'm not divulging the few short GOOD drives I know of here, in case the authorities are evesdropping and take their typical steps to eradicate them!

 

[Intergrali]

from our village through to mold using the llay road..

or the A5 is usually good

Rob.

p.s dont knwo the road name

 

[BEEJAY7]

Dieppe to Le Mans.

In anticipation of what's to come.................

Regards

Alan

 

[GRAH1]

Lythe Fell ,midnight 3 litre Capri grp1 in the dry.

Graham

 

[Intergrali]

where's that Grah? anywhere near me? whats it like in a turbo'd ford?

Inte

 

[GRAH1]

Its about 5miles from where I live full of blind brows twists and jumps with a couple of very big drops and two 100mph "straights" if your brave enough.Brilliant on pacenotes not for the faint hearted.
Graham

 

[moped rider]

My favourite run is also Welsh and its from Welshpool to Dolgellau. I have done it 100's of times, know every overtaking point, and change down ahead of a corner in anticipation of a clear road around the bend. I managed to keep up with a Porsche 3 years ago in my little Suzuki Vitara as I knew the road and he didn't. It must have driven the Porsche driver absolutely crazy!

Its 46 miles of sheer heaven, except when there is bank holiday traffic. Unless of course you are in a Renault 5 GT Turbo, when you simply overtake 30 cars and caravans at a time.

Its also fun on a BMW K 1200 LT.

Bliss.

Cheers
Moped

 

[slik]

Hey there!

Cannes to Gap. Pure motorcycle bliss.

Cheers,

slik.

 

[Intergrali]

sorry to go off on one, welcome back slik whereever you ahve been ?!!

Rob.

 

[mtucker666]

Quite a few of us like the welsh roads

My all time favourite is the 9mile D road to Llanstephan on the coast nr Carmarthen - quite a few encounters with hedges in my Mums 206.

Overall I love the Welsh Pembrokeshire minor roads in the dark so you can use the whole road banking on other cars using their lights and sheep being asleep!

In terms of 'major' roads I really like Aberystwyth thru to Bala which like Moped I know really well and thus quite happily storm past most cars in my mini.

Matt 'frustrated rally driver' Tucker

 

[Guest]

Hi Matt,
I also really like that road as I go to Tenby quite often.

If you go to St Clears and down to Pendine beach Go in the Museum Of Speed and BABS is there in the summer.
Part of the research for "Built With Passion" was to drive over the old WLS record course on Pendine Beach (which was open right though to Laugharne) at speed to see what it must have felt like to drive BABS at nearly 3 miles a minuate. I used a hire car for obvious reasons.
I think Wales has some of the best driving roads in Europe.

RR

 

[mtucker666]

RR
grew up in Pembs just outside Narberth and then moved to Tenby for the latter part of my secondary ed so know the roads really well. Been to the museum a few times and worth the trip if any of you are down that way.

On Pendine sands never managed to do the whole 7 miles as its always been restricted due to lovely testing of shells (bullet variety). However when it was raining managed a bit of drag racing in ice cream vans (smmer job) on Pendine sands - must have reached at least 40mph!

Matt

 

[Guest]

I Have only been once right across the beach as most of the time it's closed as stated.
In the Beach hotel there are pictures of all the great Land Speed Record cars on all the walls, had lunch there the food was not that great but the pictures more than make up for it.
I also love driving from Tenby to Pembroke along the coast road.

RR

 

[Fergy]

This thread, after my earlier post, got me to thinking about more historic roads. Yes, we actually have some over here!

Back in the 70's, I used to make the trek to Watkins Glen, USA for the F1 and also World Makes (Sports car) races. I suppose my most memorable, and tragic, trip was the year that Francois Cevert died. By the late 70's, I was travelling there with my wife in our camper. I knew that "the Glen" had more history than the present circuit alluded to, and sought info on where the original Watkins Glen course had run. It had been a street circuit, like Monaco, until a variety of circumstances, including some catastrophic crashes, and also politics, had ruled it no longer acceptable. By the early 80's, not all of it still existed, but most of the roads were still there, and it was possible to drive almost a complete lap on what had been one of America's foremost tracks. We spent hours identifying and driving the remaining roads, and looking at road segments, to understand fully what "the Glen" had once been. It was strangely exciting to travel some of the course sections that had remained unchanged, trying to imagine what it must have been like in a race car - nearly impossible, and/or absolutely frightful, in many cases!

The nostalgic look at yesterday was tempered by watching cars like Ferrari 512s racing around the "new" Glen. Somehow, it seemed appropriate that modern cars needed a modern facility.

But it WAS very educational, and immense fun, to actually turn a wheel on part of such a historic track. Fun factor: 10+

 

[JohnP]

A nice recollection of Watkins Glen there Fergy

I was reminded of the UK magazine Motor Sport which often features "then and now" track tests similar to your experience here. Brooklands, Crystal Palace, Pescara, Nurburgring are but a few examples of circuits that have been featured in this way.

Rather pathetically, my only nearly similar experience to yours is driving into the car park at Donington: one of the access roads used to be part of the track!

Somehow, I don't think I'll be doing much dining out with my story though

 

[Scott B]

Glasgow to Inverness via Glencoe - the most beatuiful place on earth - to Fort William then up along Loch Ness to Inverness. About 200 miles.

Driven it many times but best drive probbaly 10-12 twelve years ago in my M5 in early summer in the evening. Still warm, but no traffic and arriving at my friend's parents house for a surprise visit.

Scott

 

[sprint]

Dolomiti and Austrian Alps, heading to the Grossglockner, on twisty roads and with high mountains ever in sight.

ciao

 

[Guest]

I really enjoy driving in Scotland and love going up the A9 from Inverness up to John o Groats.
My Favourite day's driving was many years ago when I accepted a Challenge to drive from John o Groats to Lands End, from the time it got light in the morning in Scotland to when the Sun set in the Lands End hotel car park, using a Mercedes G Wagon.
This is not the fastest thing on four wheels and I could not use any motorways. The attempt was back by Mercedes UK who supplied the G wagon, the attempt was followed by the BBC would showed it on the Six o'clock news When I returned to Cardiff. This was a great days driving.
I drove single handed learning the route before leaving for the attempt. I can still remember nearly every town I drove though. Of course I keep to the speed limits!!!
I still have the newpaper cuttings from it. It took 19hours of driving as hard as possible to do it and I pulled into the hotel car park with about five minates to spare. A great day.

RR

 

[Scott B]

I twice ran events for car magazines to get from Lands End to John o'Groats, first in Peugeot 405 Mi16s and later in BMW M3s.

We started at 4.00am and they had a free route except had to stop a set location for refuelling. We'd sealed the tanks to check how much fuel was used. I made up a rough and ready formula that basically allowed then the time and fuel based on official 56mph figures. They could either tri to match that or go faster or slower. Going faster saved time, but used more fuel while going slower should have done the reverse. Based on the mpg at 56mhp we worked out a time: fuel consumption equivalent. So if you arrive early you got 'given' that much fuel.

If you've followed all that you'll realise we basically organised a race form one end of the country to the other. All the 405s were red and all the M3 yellow with the mag's name in the window BTCC style.

We reached John O'Groats by about 8.00pm and had a barbeque o eth beach back near Wick. Everyone still asks me to do it again. Trouble is, driving is not such a free experience anymore. Still, good times.

Scott