There is nothing much better than a road trip, preferably in a new country waiting to be explored slowly and bit by bit.
Every village is prettier than the next, strung together by beautiful countryside, scenic views, great pubs, history, and little cottages
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This is a perfect drive for springtime when the hills burst into flower. All I can say is, again, take your time and stop off at every village you see; you won’t regret the extra time spent there.
One of the great historic roads connecting the main hubs of London and Bristol,
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The drive will take you through the counties of Berkshire, stopping off at Windsor Castle. Consider popping north to Oxfordshire to take in Oxford with its dreaming spires, then drive south into Wiltshire past Newbury to Salisbury.
Like with all road trips, the more time you have, the better, but 3 or 4 days will cover this stretch of England quite sufficiently.
Since summer usually means crowds of people and traffic jams, try to get there in early September.
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This is quite a long drive, with many beaches, coves, villages, and towns to discover along the way. Take your time, preferably make it into a summer vacation with breaks along the beaches over 2 weeks, and stop off in hot spots such as Barnstable, Newquay, or St. Ives in the north, and Penzance and Falmouth in the south, which are all good bases for individual day trips in the surrounding area.
The road leads north to the seemingly endless Northumberland coast with its many castles.
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All in all, this is perfectly doable in one long weekend, depending on how many castles you want to have a closer look at and how many walks you want to take along the numerous beaches and along the ancient Roman wall. Personally, I spent a week there and could easily have spent longer.
Cross the border to Scotland for the epic North Coast 500 drive.
This trip, strange as it might sound, is perfect for winter when the snow enhances the countryside but rarely gets too bad for driving.
You should also allow time to add a few island trips to your itinerary.
Most notably, there are the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, and the Orkneys which you can get to by ferry from John O’Groats.