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I think its safe to say that if you live in the UK you will have gained an appreciation for the beauty of the countries within it these last few years. UK Road Trips exploring England and Wales kept my travel bug satisfied in times when we couldn’t visit further afield. Now we can, it still hasn’t stopped and I love getting away for a few days on a UK road trip, plus my husband loves to drive on them! Win, win if you ask me!
So with that said I’ve created a round up of the best road trips we took part in, across the last couple of years to help you in any trips you want to plan either by car, motorhome or even by motorcycle! With summer just around the corner, make sure you have the right motorcycle insurance to cover you for the UK road trips, fill up the tank and you’re good to go!
Cotswolds Road Trip
I think it’s safe to say that me and most of England visited The Cotswolds as a way of escaping in 2020 and 2021. We took many a trip there but my favourite trip was the following:
Stanton/Broadway Tower/Sudeley Castle/ Cheltenham
Stanton is a very cute village with the most picturesque thatched cottage. It’s a great base for walking so the main car park fills up fast. Much more ideal for bikes as you will get a spot much easier. We just wandered the village for half an hour or so enjoying it and it was a nice calm first stop of the day.
Broadway Tower is iconic and a great place to visit. There is plenty of parking (sometimes in a field). There is also a takeout coffee and cake place plus ice creams to have that mid morning snack that will be needed by then! The tower itself has a lot of history. When we visited we learnt lots from a man there who was part of the Royal Observers Corp. The tower was a base for them as it has views over 16 counties when the sky is clear! Its also home to information about the artists that resided there in the 20th century including William Morris and I found it super interesting. Well worth a visit.
Sudeley Castle then takes the crown for my favourite historic house that I’ve visited. It’s lovely to walk around, the grounds are stunning and inside the house it has a really informative and enthralling exhibition. It’s all about the history if the house and its Royal connections. I can find history a little boring sometimes and this was actually really interesting and I learnt loads. It was way better than any history lesson I had at school let me tell you.
Then we ended this trip with a stay in Cheltenham. After a fun packed day we were shattered so went out for Tapas then retired to bed to recharge for another day exploring!
North Wales Road Trip
This was our most recent trip and we did it in a Audi R8. I wish we’d been in something smaller and higher, as some of the single track roads can be quite hairy in a supercar! Very good for a bike or a 4×4 vehicle.
Llyn Celyn Reservoir/ Portmeirion/ Porthmadog/ Llanwrst/Conwy Falls
Llyn Celyn Reservoir was a quick stop on our journey to Portmeirion. It’s worth a stop and a leg stretch whilst admiring the view quickly!
Portmeirion is THE Instagram dream before it was even a thing. The series the Prisoner was filmed her for those old enough to remember. I was fascinated by that and how the village came to be. You pay to visit and book before you go is my advice. You can do walks around the coast and into the more natural environment around the village. If you’re visiting the village you can probably spend a couple of hours there. We spent quite a long time sat in the sun listening to the sea and it was blissful.
On the way back we stopped near Porthmadog for Fish and Chips. We pulled up in a lay-by close to the fish shop and discovered it had its own waterfall cascading over the side of the hill. The most picturesque lay-by I’ve ever been in I think!
Following that we drove up to Llanwrst yo go see the famous tea shop, Tu Hwnt I’r Bont. It’s an ivy covered cottage at the end if a one way bridge. I really want to go in autumn it see it covered in red ivy but it looked so fab even in March it was worth the drive up.
Then on our way home we stopped at Conwy Falls. its a walk of about 20-30 mins down a path in a one way loop. Beware as it can be steep and muddy. The falls are fab to see though and well worth a pit stop! They have an honesty box donation point outside of peak times. There’s parking and a café on site for those much needed refreshments. We didn’t partake as were still stuffed from fish and chips.
South Coast Road Trip
Last on my tour of UK road trips is one we did in summer during 2020. It was lovely as the weather was stunning, and it really helped the most to cure those travelling pangs I was getting,
West Dean Gardens/ Hannaker Windmill/ Tinwood Estate Winery/ Arundel
We actually spent a week in Littlehampton to allow us to visit some other places nearby too but this was a day trip we did in the area.
Starting at West Dean Gardens which has some stunning gardens (shock) and it was lovely to explore for a while. We spent until midday there and it helped it was a beautiful sunny day. You can take tour own picnic there to have in the grounds but we had other plans….
Hannaker Windmill is so nice and if you take the right walking route then you go through this famous tree tunnel. You can park in a little triangle patch where the path starts. Or there’s a lay-by further uphill where we had to park because we couldn’t fit in. I got kilometres and miles mixed up which wasn’t great to start with and of course, as you are walking to a windmill it’s all uphill! Poor Luke carried the picnic and by the time we got there I wasn’t hungry and felt ill! Essentially though allow time and you’ll be fine, and maybe take the picnic to west dean instead!
Tinwood Estate Winery is stunning. You can buy wine to take away from the vineyard post your road trip. So still worth going if driving as you don’t have to drink. As I was passenger I did the wine tasting and Luke had the fair share of the cheeseboard. Fair trade I think! He sipped each one and we picked our fave to buy and enjoy later.
Arundel has featured on here before on my Arundel Castle post. We didn’t visit the castle this day but went our for an evening meal to end the day. I won’t recommend where we ate, (not the one in the pic!) but there are a few places to choose from.
Hopefully you found this post useful. I did say I’d do more if these UK road trips posts so I’m sticking to that promise now. I enjoy planning them for myself and helping others! If there’s an area you are looking to explore let me know. I will try and get a route drawn up and shared with everyone!
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