7 roads · UK

Best driving roads in the UK

7 famous driving roads in the UK, each called corner by corner by Turini’s pace-note engine. On the routes here, the Bealach na Bà has the most hairpins (6) and has the biggest climb, about 610 m in all; the Evo Triangle is the longest at 20.1 km. They are listed by the number of hairpins Turini calls, then by length: a count from the map, not a verdict on which road is best.

The UK, by hairpins

1. 1
   Bealach na BàApplecross Pass · Scotland18.2 km · 94 calls · 6 hairpins · ↑610 m

   Built in 1822 with tight alpine-style hairpins, it has the greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to about 630 m in around 6 km.

2. 2
   Hardknott PassEngland15.9 km · 184 calls · 3 hairpins · ↑500 m

   Hardknott is usually named, with Rosedale Chimney Bank, as the steepest road in England, with gradients of up to 1 in 3.

3. 3
   Evo TriangleA543 · Denbigh Moors · Wales20.1 km · 91 calls · 0 hairpins · ↑300 m

   It takes its name from evo magazine, which used these roads for years for its road tests and photo shoots.

4. 4
   Snake PassA57 · England19.7 km · 54 calls · 0 hairpins · ↑310 m

   It opened in 1821 as a turnpike, the highest in England at the time, and its long bends over open moorland have made it a favourite with drivers and motorcyclists.

5. 5
   GlencoeA82 · Glen Coe · Scotland19.0 km · 54 calls · 0 hairpins · ↑60 m

   It passes Buachaille Etive Mòr at the head of the glen and the Three Sisters further down, and it is the classic road to Fort William and Skye.

6. 6
   Cat and Fiddle RoadA537 · England15.2 km · 75 calls · 0 hairpins · ↑320 m

   Its long open bends drew motorcyclists for decades, and it was repeatedly rated one of Britain’s most dangerous roads in road-safety surveys.

7. 7
   Horseshoe PassA542 · Wales10.5 km · 33 calls · 0 hairpins · ↑320 m

   The road curves round the head of a deep valley in a horseshoe, which gives it its name, and it has long been a meeting point for motorcyclists.

Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on the route shown on each road’s page, which is often one side or one stretch of the road. Climbs come from terrain data.

What the numbers mean

Each corner is called as a direction and a grade from 1 (tightest) to 6 (nearly straight). Hairpins are the turns that double back on themselves. The counts come straight from Turini’s engine reading the OpenStreetMap road, the same calls you hear in the car. The climb (↑) is the height gained over the route, from terrain data. New to it? Read how to read pace notes.

Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.

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