# Road trips in United Kingdom > 29 road trips and 111 hand-picked places in United Kingdom, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/united-kingdom/ 29 road trips and 111 hand-picked places in United Kingdom, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through United Kingdom - [The North Coast 500 from Inverness](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/nc500/): Empty beaches, sea caves and single-track roads around the top of Scotland. - [Cornwall’s Atlantic coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/cornwall/): St Ives, a theatre in the cliffs, Land’s End and King Arthur’s Tintagel. - [Yorkshire: York, the moors and the Dales](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/yorkshire/): Medieval York, the harbour and abbey at Whitby and the Ribblehead Viaduct. - [Wales: Brecon Beacons to Snowdonia](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/wales/): Across Wales on the A470, up Snowdon and on to Conwy’s castle and Portmeirion. - [Causeway Coastal Route](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/causeway-coast/): Glens of Antrim, a rope bridge, the Dark Hedges and the basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway. - [Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/royal-deeside/): Perth, the Highland village of Braemar, Aberdeen and the cliff castle of Dunnottar. - [Jurassic Coast: Lyme Regis to Old Harry](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-jurassic-coast/): Fossil beaches, a shingle bank 29 km long, Durdle Door and a ruined castle along Dorset’s World Heritage coast. - [Cotswold villages: Bath to Chipping Campden](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-cotswolds/): From Georgian Bath through honey-stone villages along the Roman Fosse Way to the wool town of Chipping Campden. - [Peak District: Mam Tor, Ladybower and Chatsworth](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-peak-district/): A spa town, the ‘shivering mountain’, caves at Castleton, drowned villages and the grandest house in Derbyshire. - [Lake District passes: Kirkstone to Hardknott](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-lake-district-passes/): England’s steepest roads link the lakes: Kirkstone, Honister, lonely Wast Water and the hairpins of Hardknott and Wrynose. - [Northumberland’s coast of castles](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-northumberland-coast/): From Newcastle north to Alnwick, the ruins of Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh on its crag and the tidal island of Lindisfarne. - [Hadrian’s Wall: Carlisle to Hexham](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-hadrians-wall/): Roman forts, a museum of soldiers’ letters and the wall riding its cliffs along the old Military Road. - [North Norfolk coast: seals, saltmarsh and sand](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-norfolk-coast/): Striped cliffs, the huge beach at Holkham, boat trips to the seals of Blakeney Point and dunes where grey seals pup in winter. - [Kent: castles, Canterbury and the white cliffs](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-kent-garden-of-england/): A moated castle, oysters at Whitstable, Canterbury Cathedral, the White Cliffs of Dover and the shingle wilderness of Dungeness. - [North Devon and Exmoor on the Atlantic Highway](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-exmoor-coast/): A car-free fishing village, the high cliffs of Exmoor, a prehistoric clapper bridge and medieval Dunster. - [Gower and the Pembrokeshire coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-gower-pembrokeshire/): Limestone bays on Gower, Dylan Thomas’s Laugharne, harbour town Tenby, a chapel in the cliffs and Britain’s smallest city. - [Isle of Skye by the bridge](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-skye-loop/): Eilean Donan, the Fairy Pools below the Cuillin, Neist Point lighthouse, Portree and the Trotternish ridge. - [Mull and Iona by ferry from Oban](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-mull-iona/): A short ferry to Mull, Duart Castle, colourful Tobermory, white sands at Calgary and the holy island of Iona. - [Argyll: Loch Lomond to Kilmartin and Oban](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-argyll-lochs/): Loch Lomond, the Rest and Be Thankful, Inveraray on Loch Fyne, prehistoric Kilmartin Glen and the Crinan Canal. - [Galloway: dark skies to the Mull of Galloway](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-galloway/): Scotland’s quiet south-west: a moated castle, an artists’ town, a dark-sky forest park and the country’s most southerly point. - [Scottish Borders: abbeys along the Tweed](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b6-scottish-borders/): Rosslyn’s carved chapel, the old house at Traquair, the great ruined abbeys of Melrose and Jedburgh and Walter Scott’s favourite view. - [Loch Ness and the Road to the Isles](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-road-to-the-isles/): Down the Great Glen past Urquhart Castle to Fort William, then west on the A830 to Glenfinnan, the Silver Sands of Morar and Mallaig. - [Wester Ross: Bealach na Bà, Torridon and Loch Maree](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-applecross-wester-ross/): The wildest stretch of the North Coast 500, over the Bealach na Bà to Applecross, through Torridon and along Loch Maree to Ullapool. - [Orkney by ferry: the Italian Chapel and Neolithic Orkney](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-orkney/): A short ferry from Caithness to Orkney’s Churchill Barriers, Kirkwall and the stone circles, tombs and village of Neolithic Orkney. - [Dartmoor: granite tors and clapper bridges](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-dartmoor/): Across Dartmoor from Exeter to Tavistock, via Haytor, Hound Tor, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Dartmeet and the clapper bridge at Postbridge. - [Cornwall’s south coast: St Michael’s Mount to Fowey](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-cornwall-south/): The gentler side of Cornwall: a tidal island, the Lizard’s coves and cliffs, Falmouth’s castle, fishing harbours and the Eden Project. - [South Downs and the Seven Sisters cliffs](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-sussex-seven-sisters/): From Brighton over the South Downs to the chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head, then inland to moated Bodiam Castle and Rye. - [Anglesey and the Llŷn peninsula](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-anglesey-llyn/): Castles and sea cliffs of north-west Wales: Beaumaris, South Stack and Caernarfon, then the quiet Llŷn coast to Aberdaron and Criccieth. - [Strangford Lough and the Mourne Mountains](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b15-mournes-strangford/): Down the Ards Peninsula, across Strangford Lough by ferry, then to Newcastle and the Mournes, finishing over the border in Carlingford. ## Places worth the detour in United Kingdom - [Glen Coe](https://camping-spirit.com/places/glencoe/): A dramatic Highland glen on the A82, with waterfalls and walks from almost every lay-by. - [Stonehenge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/stonehenge/): A prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, aligned with the midsummer sunrise. - [Giant's Causeway](https://camping-spirit.com/places/giants-causeway/): About 40,000 interlocking basalt columns stepping down into the sea on the Antrim coast. - [Minack Theatre](https://camping-spirit.com/places/minack/): An open-air theatre cut into the cliff above a turquoise bay, built by hand by one determined woman. - [Ribblehead Viaduct](https://camping-spirit.com/places/ribblehead/): Twenty-four stone arches carry the Settle–Carlisle railway across a bare moor below Whernside. - [Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/snowdon/): Wales’ highest mountain. Walk up, or take the rack railway from Llanberis in season. - [Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/carrick-a-rede/): A rope bridge 30 m above the sea to a tiny island once used by salmon fishermen. Book a time slot. - [Dunnottar Castle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/dunnottar/): Clifftop ruins on a rock almost cut off from the mainland, where the Scottish crown jewels were once hidden. - [Lulworth Cove](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-lulworth-cove/): An almost circular bay where the sea has broken through a wall of limestone into softer clay. From the same car park a steep path climbs over the hill to Durdle Door. - [Corfe Castle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-corfe-castle/): Jagged ruins of a royal castle on a hill above a stone village, blown apart after a Civil War siege. The steam railway to Swanage stops below it. - [Old Harry Rocks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-old-harry-rocks/): White chalk stacks at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast. An easy, mostly level walk of about 2.5 km leads out from Studland. - [Arlington Row](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-arlington-row/): A row of steep-roofed weavers’ cottages beside a water meadow, one of the most photographed scenes in England. Parking in Bibury is tight, so come early. - [Mam Tor](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-mam-tor/): The ‘shivering mountain’, a 517 m hill whose landslips swallowed a main road. A paved path climbs from the Mam Nick car park to the summit in about 20 minutes. - [Chatsworth](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-chatsworth/): The grand house of the Dukes of Devonshire in a landscaped park on the river Derwent. The park is open to walk even if you skip the house and gardens. - [Aira Force](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-aira-force/): A waterfall of about 20 m in a wooded ravine above Ullswater, crossed by stone footbridges. The car park by the lake road fills early in summer. - [Buttermere](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-buttermere/): A small lake ringed by high fells, with an easy, level path of about 7 km all the way round. Parking in the hamlet is limited. - [Wast Water](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-wast-water/): England’s deepest lake, with scree slopes plunging into it and Great Gable at its head. The road along the shore is a dead end, so it stays quiet. - [Dunstanburgh Castle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-dunstanburgh-castle/): The gaunt ruins of a 14th-century castle on a lonely headland. There is no road to it: walk about 2 km along the grassy shore from Craster. - [Bamburgh Castle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-bamburgh-castle/): A huge castle on a basalt crag above a wide, dune-backed beach. Walk the sands at low tide for the classic view. - [Lindisfarne (Holy Island)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-lindisfarne/): A tidal island with the ruins of an early Christian priory and a small castle. The causeway floods twice a day: check the safe crossing times before you drive over. - [Steel Rigg](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-steel-rigg/): The wall at its most dramatic, riding a line of cliffs above Crag Lough. From the car park a rough path follows it to Sycamore Gap, where the famous tree stood until 2023. - [Vindolanda](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-vindolanda/): An excavated Roman fort and village where archaeologists still dig each summer. Its museum holds the wooden writing tablets, letters written by soldiers and their families. - [Housesteads Roman Fort](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-housesteads/): The best preserved fort on the wall, spread across a windswept ridge. It is an uphill walk of about 10 minutes from the car park. - [Holkham Beach](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-holkham-beach/): A vast sweep of sand behind a belt of pine woods, reached on boardwalks from the car park on Lady Anne’s Drive. At low tide the sea is a long walk away. - [Blakeney Point seals](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-blakeney-point/): Boat trips leave Morston Quay at high tide to see the common and grey seals on the sandbanks of Blakeney Point. Book ahead in summer. - [Canterbury Cathedral](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-canterbury-cathedral/): The mother church of the Church of England, where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170. Use the park and ride: the old city centre is compact and walkable. - [White Cliffs of Dover](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-white-cliffs/): Chalk cliffs above the Channel, with a clifftop path from the National Trust car park to South Foreland lighthouse. On clear days you can see France. - [Dungeness](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-dungeness/): A flat shingle headland of fishermen’s huts, two lighthouses and a nuclear power station. The old lighthouse can be climbed, and a miniature railway runs to Hythe. - [Valley of Rocks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-valley-of-rocks/): A dry valley of rock towers above the sea just west of Lynton, grazed by wild goats. A short path climbs Castle Rock for the view. - [Tarr Steps](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-tarr-steps/): A clapper bridge of huge stone slabs across the river Barle in a wooded valley, the longest of its kind in Britain. Park at the top and walk down. - [Three Cliffs Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-three-cliffs-bay/): A bay framed by three limestone points, with a castle ruin and a river winding across the sand. There is no road down: walk in from Penmaen. - [Rhossili Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-rhossili-bay/): Almost 5 km of sand below a steep down, ending at the tidal Worm’s Head. Crossing to the Head is only safe around low tide, so check the times at the coastguard lookout. - [Barafundle Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-barafundle-bay/): A sandy cove with dunes and pine trees and no road access, reached on a cliff path of about 800 m from Stackpole Quay. - [St Govan’s Chapel](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-st-govans-chapel/): A tiny stone chapel wedged into a cleft in the cliffs at the bottom of a long flight of steps. The road crosses a military range and closes when firing is taking place. - [Fairy Pools](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-fairy-pools/): A chain of clear blue pools and small falls below the Black Cuillin, about 40 minutes’ walk from the paid car park on the single-track Glenbrittle road. - [Neist Point](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-neist-point/): Skye’s most westerly headland, with a lighthouse at the end of a steep concrete path. Come for sunset and look out for whales and dolphins. - [Quiraing](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-quiraing/): A huge landslip of pinnacles and hidden plateaus on the Trotternish ridge. The single-track road from Staffin to Uig passes the car park at the top. - [Calgary Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-calgary-bay/): A white-sand beach with turquoise water and flower-rich machair behind it. There is a small informal parking area by the shore. - [Iona Abbey](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-iona-abbey/): The restored medieval abbey on the island where St Columba founded his monastery in 563. Leave the car at Fionnphort and take the short foot-passenger ferry. - [Kilmartin Glen](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b6-kilmartin-glen/): A valley with hundreds of prehistoric monuments: burial cairns, standing stones and rock carvings, most free to visit on foot from roadside parking. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in United Kingdom?** Popular routes include The North Coast 500 from Inverness, Cornwall’s Atlantic coast, Yorkshire: York, the moors and the Dales and Wales: Brecon Beacons to Snowdonia. CampingSpirit has 29 trip guides that pass through United Kingdom, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in United Kingdom are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Glen Coe, Stonehenge, Giant's Causeway, Minack Theatre, Ribblehead Viaduct and Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa). **Do you need a vignette or pay tolls in United Kingdom?** Tolls on some roads, bridges or tunnels. Drive on the left. Some bridges and tunnels charge tolls. Rules and prices change. Check official sources before you travel. **What is the motorway speed limit in United Kingdom?** 112 (70 mph) km/h on motorways for cars, unless signs show otherwise. **Are there low-emission zones in United Kingdom?** Clean air zones and London ULEZ.