CarFest NorthRoutes & days outNorthern England, by road
Driving routes, places to stop and stories from northern England. Pick a day out or make a weekend of it.
Find your next routeRead the notebook
The route book
Ready-made drives, with maps and places to stop.
The northern notebook
British cars, northern places and time along the way.
Northumberland coast
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Warkworth and Bamburgh, an afternoon at Alnmouth and a coastal walk from Craster. A northbound break with time outside the car.
Yorkshire Dales
A Yorkshire Dales break with fewer check-ins and more time out of the car.
Read the storyLake District & North Pennines
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Campbell’s record-breaking machines, an afternoon beside the lakes and a night at Ullswater. Then over the Pennines to Hexham.
Crewe & Cheshire
A little luggage, a long bonnet and a good reason to take your time.
Read the story
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Breakfast in Little Budworth, a morning at Oulton Park, a climb to Beeston Castle and ice cream to finish.
Along the way
A little preparation for a stop that can become the best part of the drive.
Read the storyYorkshire Dales
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Start in Settle, stop at Ribblehead and stay in Hawes. Sunday brings Aysgarth Falls, a drive through the dales and lunch in Grassington.
Manchester
Two surnames, an introduction and a car with a very small engine by later standards.
Read the storyGreater Manchester
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Aircraft at Woodford, lunch and the tunnels beneath Stockport, then Manchester’s industrial machines. Three indoor visits with parking points and time to walk.
Blackpool
A sports-car story with a workshop at one end and a walk by the sea at the other.
Read the storyPhotographs from Wikimedia Commons · Photographers & image credits
More from the route book
Lancashire coast
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Lytham Green, Stanley Park in Blackpool and lunch in Fleetwood, followed by the road north to an afternoon on the Morecambe promenade.
Yorkshire coast
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · OSRM
Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, a night near the coast, then clifftop Ravenscar and Scarborough’s North Bay.
Forest of Bowland
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Breakfast in Clitheroe, a walk from Dunsop Bridge and an afternoon in Slaidburn. A short drive with three full stops.
Hadrian’s Wall country
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Roman streets at Corbridge, a climb to Housesteads and a morning at Vindolanda, finishing beside the Wall at Birdoswald.
Western Lake District
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · OSRM
Ravenglass, Muncaster and a walk into Boot, then Wastwater by the western valley roads. Add a third day for the railway.