United Kingdom, England
Getting out is the hard part, but the North Downs, the Cotswolds and the Chilterns all sit inside a two hour reach.
First instinct from London: head west on the A40 or south over the Surrey Hills.
Scored roads in range
12
Nearest great road
122 mi
Best rated nearby
8.1 / 10
Shortest full loop
11 hr 57 min
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. Every road in the library carries a driving and scenery score set by the same method. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 18 April 2026
150 to 400 km from the centre
Leave early, take the long way back and make a day of it.
Roughly 13 hr 48 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
238 mi away · Lake District, England
England's steepest road gradient, a brutal one in three climb over Roman ruins.
5 km · 3.1 mi · Atlas rating 9.5 / 10
163 mi away · Brecon Beacons, Wales
A ribbon of hairpins climbing a bare Welsh moorland made famous by Top Gear.
19 km · 11.8 mi · Atlas rating 9.4 / 10
199 mi away · Snowdonia, Wales
A dramatic pass beneath Snowdon's crags linking two of Wales's most storied villages.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
245 mi away · Lake District, England
A steep slate quarry pass squeezed between towering fells above Buttermere.
6.5 km · 4 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
215 mi away · Yorkshire Dales, England
Tour de France famous climb past limestone potholes between two classic dale villages.
11 km · 6.8 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
237 mi away · Lake District, England
Narrow single track linking Langdale to Duddon Valley over the ancient Three Shire Stone.
6.5 km · 4 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
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