Birmingham is a city revving with petrol-heads, moto-enthusiasts, and car-nuts. Nothing quite beats hopping behind the wheel and going for a long drive. Unless you’re a big fan of interchanges, you will have to get out of the city for the UK’s most scenic drives, but the country’s top route is only 30 miles from Birmingham.
With sunshine now almost a daily occurrence in the UK, everyone’s looking to get out and about on a road trip this spring, but try to make the most of the journey too. SIXT has created a new index revealing the UK’s top 10 most beautiful driving routes—based on Google search data, Instagram hashtags, and TikTok activity.
Analysing how often these drives are searched for, shared, and explored online, the index provides an overview of the routes that are currently attracting the most attention from travellers across the UK. According to the data, the most scenic driving route in the UK stretches from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham.
The 50-minute drive within the Cotswolds has received an impressive 2.9 million tags on Instagram and over 201,000 Google searches in the past year in the UK. “This scenic route is earning a great reputation for its countryside scenes, creating the perfect backdrop for quality time,” said SIXT.
To drive from Birmingham to Cheltenham, it only takes an hour, but if you want to take the scenic route via Stratford-upon-Avon, it will take two… But it’s worth it (apparently)! Right on the doorstep of the Cotswolds, there are plenty of beautiful towns and villages to explore nearby, including Broadway, which is on the way.
Another scenic drive you might want to consider is the Snake Pass in the Peak District, which is a scenic 26-mile road crossing the Derbyshire Pennines between Glossop and Ladybower Reservoir. Or there’s the Black Mountain Pass in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
These are the top 10 most scenic driving routes in the UK:
- Cheltenham to Stratford-upon-Avon (Cotswolds)
- Black Mountain Pass (Wales)
- St Ives to St Just (Cornwall)
- Cheddar Gorge (Somerset)
- Loch Lomond to Lochgilphead (Scotland)
- Penrith to Haydon Bridge (North Pennines)
- North Coast (Scotland)
- Jurassic Coast (Dorset)
- Snake Pass (Peak District)
- Pont‑rhyd‑y‑groes to Devil’s Bridge (Wales)