If you wondered about the best place for a dramatic drive, here’re the suggested spots to head for.
New research from Autotrader reveals the roads around the UK that are the most reliable at delivering the best driving weather, from the Norfolk Coast to the country lanes of the New Forest and around the Welsh coast and Cornwall.
With ‘road trip’ searches up by 65% in the UK in the past month alone (hitting 364,000), motorists are starting to plan their driving adventures this year. Autotrader partnered with the founder of the British Weather Services and Senior Meteorologist Jim R N Dale, to find out which roads in the UK and beyond have the best weather conditions for driving year-round.
Jim helped define the weather conditions that make driving feel easiest and safest, saying that visibility is “No.1 in the hierarchy of perfect driving conditions”.
Using his expertise, Autotrader created a Perfect Driving Weather index across five factors: road surface conditions, visibility and clear days, wind speed, ground temperature and humidity comfort.
UK’s 10 Roads with The Best Driving Weather Conditions
Roads in the New Forest top the UK rankings with a surprisingly strong score of 60.7. Compared to upland Britain, these roads have relatively low rainfall and clear skies for much of the year, which makes it one of the country’s most reliable road trip options. Combine that with ancient woodland and the New Forest ponies, and it takes the crown for the country’s most pleasant drive.
The A272, running through the South Downs and across the Weald of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, claims the second position. With a generally sheltered position, leading to comfortable temperatures and low humidity, it scores 60.4.
The Cotswolds roads follow in third (59.5), with low wind speeds and modest rainfall making it one of the most consistently pleasant areas to drive around in. Meanwhile Norfolk’s coastal roads score well for visibility and low humidity (58.5), while the A39 Atlantic Highway in Cornwall is one of most eye-catching drives and scores 55.1.
The Pembrokeshire coastal route hugging the western side of Wales and running up through Aberystwyth to the Lleyn Peninsula is our favourite, but it gets very congested at weekends.
Inland you can take in the mid-Wales scenery with the A470 through the heart of Wales over the Black and Cambrian Mountains from Cardiff to Llandudno, but beware of changing weather over these hilly horizons, which have not been included in the Autotrader map.
If you’re going further afield with a hire car, these are the best to Jim R N Dale’s knowledge.
As well as UK roads, the study looked further afield to rank the weather conditions typically seen on a selection of the world’s most famous road trips.
South Africa’s Garden Route ranks first in the global list with a near-perfect score of 90.6 out of 100. The 300km stretch between Mossel Bay and Storms River has clear skies, gentle winds and comfortable temperatures for most of the year according to the data.
Driving along the Indian Ocean coast, and weaving between the forest and mountains, the meteorological conditions for driving are as close to perfect as it gets.
America’s most well-known road, Route 66, takes second place with a score of 87.3. Sections through the American Southwest, particularly New Mexico and Arizona, have dry conditions, low rainfall and strong sunshine for most of the year, making them great for road trips.
Also in the USA, the Pacific Coast Highway rounds out the global top three with a score of 86.1, since the central California’s microclimate keeps extremes of heat and cold in check. With the Kahekili Highway in 9th, this makes the USA take the crown for the country with the biggest number of roads with great weather conditions to visit in the world’s top 10.
Italy’s Amalfi Coast Road scores 81, with a warm, dry Mediterranean climate giving excellent visibility and comfortable temperatures for much of the year.
Spain’s Costa Brava Coastal Roads follow in 5th (76.3), with cliff-hugging bends and beautiful sea views accompanying its reliable weather, making it a must to visit this spring or summer.
