Imagine getting £50 to fill up your tank and being able to set off on to the open road, where would you go? which route would you choose and why? MoneySupermarket.com have a fabulous Road Trip Challenge running at the moment and they have given me £50 to fill my tank and share my favourite route with you.
When I travel home to see my mam (funny how I still call it home even though I have lived in the south longer than I did the north) the highlight of my six and a half hour drive has to be the 56 mile stretch of the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith.
The A66 has a love it or hate it reputation, from high winds, driving rain, snow drifts and being closed to high sided vehicles it sure has its bad points. Generally when I drive home it is nighttime and I often joke as I turn off the the A1 at Scotch Corner onto the A66 that as soon as I see the first signpost the rain will start. I have to admit that on 9 out of 10 occasions it does in fact rain. Driving at night along the A66 you really need to keep your wits about you. Following lorries and caravans can be a royal pain in the bum, patiently waiting for that next section of dual carriageway to appear.
Daytime on the A66 is when for me, the road becomes a different drive. The views are spectacular, the rolling hills rise and fall in front of you and you are able to take in an array of beautiful countryside.
With many large packing laybys at the side of the road it gives you the opportunity to stop, have a cuppa or a picnic in the fresh country air before continuing on with your journey.
The A66 may not be everyone’s favourite road but for me the variety of conditions you can experience adds that element of the unknown to a road I have have driven down many, many times before.
No Comments