How to find the world's best roads without leaving the UK

Britons don’t need to travel far from home to find the very best drives say Getty Images and Alfa Romeo. Having named their top 10 roads worldwide they then matched key characteristics of each to unearth a UK equivalent.

Damien Dally, Managing Director of Alfa Romeo UK said: “International travel is possible again after years of disruption but, judging by our findings, UK motorists don’t need to travel to the other side of the world to experience an iconic drive. Our findings show the UK is home to epic landscapes and engaging roads that are tailor-made for road trips.”

To prove the point Alfa sent out its Stelvio Quadrifoglio high-performance SUV to tackle three of the routes– including the British doppelgänger of the road that gave the car its name. Alfa Romeo and Getty reckon that the Applecross Pass (or Bealch na Bà) in Strathcarron, Scotland is most closely-matched to the famous Stelvio Pass that spans the Swiss/Italian border.

Head to the Coast and the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall could be the twin of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, adds Getty and Alfa Romeo. “Part of Cornwall’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, arriving at the bay and exploring its seaside towns on a summer’s day will evoke the idyllic Italian location,” says Alfa.

Alfa also sent its Stelvio to find Britain’s version of The Great Ocean Road in Australia, and discovered it on the Isle of Wight. “Military Road has developed a reputation as one of the UK’s finest routes for gazing into the horizons and experiencing the sea air of the English Channel,” says the Italian brand.

The rest of Alfa Romeo and Getty’s top ten twins lists states that the Black Mountain Pass in Wales is the equivalent of Romania’s Transfăgărășan; the Isle of Skye’s Trotternish Peninsula is a match for Norway’s Trollstigen; Snake Pass in the Peak District pairs with the San Bernardino Pass in Switzerland; Mam Tor, also in the Peak District is equal to the Swiss Julier Pass; the 82 to Glencoe could pass for Route 66 in the USA; the Isle of Mull is like Norway’s Atlantic Ocean Road and the North Coast 500 is a great alternative to the Sylvensteinspeicher in Germany’s Isar Valley.

Click on the highlighted text to get Detour’s take on these amazing roads in the UK and across the world.