City to city
A long haul north that only makes sense if you break it in the Lakes or the Borders and take the west side of Scotland.
Direct route
540.6 mi
Scenic route
857.5 mi
Days to enjoy it
5 days
Great roads on route
7
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. Distances are planning estimates. The road list is drawn from the scored Atlas library inside this corridor. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 9 April 2026
The detour
The fast way
Motorway and trunk road for most of it, one fuel stop, nothing you will remember. Useful when the drive is a means to an end.
The good way
About 3 hr 46 min of that is spent on the great roads themselves, which is where the whole difference lies.
On the way
01 · United Kingdom
Britain's highest road climbs via hairpins to a wild moonscape pass above Applecross.
11.5 mi · Rating 9.9 / 10
02 · United Kingdom
England's steepest road gradient, a brutal one in three climb over Roman ruins.
3.1 mi · Rating 9.5 / 10
03 · United Kingdom
A sweeping run through Rannoch Moor beneath the brooding Buachaille Etive Mor.
18.6 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
04 · United Kingdom
A lochside single track with views straight across to Skye and the Cuillins.
15.5 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
05 · United Kingdom
A ribbon of hairpins climbing a bare Welsh moorland made famous by Top Gear.
11.8 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
06 · United Kingdom
A steep slate quarry pass squeezed between towering fells above Buttermere.
4 mi · Rating 9.3 / 10
07 · United Kingdom
A dramatic pass beneath Snowdon's crags linking two of Wales's most storied villages.
9.9 mi · Rating 9.3 / 10
Either end
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