From the tippity top of the mountain highways in Scotland to Wales’ winding coastal roads, the UK has plenty of marvellous spots for a scenic drive. And we at Time Out certainly know a place or two that make for a really cracking road trip.
But there’s a little more to a road trip than prettiest drives – well, according to one new study, anyway. Moneybarn Car Insurance analysed a tonne of data looking at more practical things to bear in mind when hitting the road. The platform evaluated everything from Google search volume and countries’ average number of EV charging stations to road quality scores and the number of traffic deaths, all to determine where in the world is best for a road trip.
And the UK claimed sixth place! Yep, while we might be a bit biased when it comes to the scenery, our island also scored well for its practicality.
Of the top ten, the UK has the lowest number of cars per thousand people at 519 (which suggests there might be less traffic) and has a relatively low score for the number of road-related deaths per 1,000 people at 3.2.
We were beaten by the likes of the USA, which claims the top spot largely thanks to the 72,500 Google searches compared to the UK’s 37,800, and also by France and Australia, which round out the top three. You can read more about the study here.
Hit the road with Time Out
Clearly the practical elements are worth factoring into your adventure, but what’s a road trip without some brilliant photo-ops? We’ve got a comprehensive list of the best, most stunning road trips in the UK here, as well as the best places to visit and the best campsites, for a little extra inspo.
Did you see that this popular English seaside resort is getting three brand-new attractions?
Plus: Newcastle’s historic Turkish baths have reopened after an £8 million refurb.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.