The meandrous curves on this circular route will lead you through the fairytale-esque surroundings of Lake Vyrnwy, and the lost village of Llanwddyn that lies beneath its shimmering waters, says Charlotte Vowden.

Spain’s Costa Brava hides one short stretch of sensational old-school road. It’s a glorious sequence of hairy corners, dizzy drops and amazing but distracting views of the Mediterranean hundreds of feet below.

With a highly anticipated Pentagon report on the possible existence of alien life raising eyebrows in the global ufologist community, Luke Ponsford recounts his journey to Area 51.

A g’day – or a more likely a g’week or more – is guaranteed if you take a drive Down Under on one of these remarkable routes.

Whenever Bill Dunn felt Cornwall calling he would just jump in his car and drive. Even when there was sometimes a slim chance of making it.

This little-known Austrian road is likened by locals to a cable car – as it goes straight up a mountain. The route rises 5,000ft… in just seven miles.

Incredibly steep and probably more suited to sheep, the Hardknott Pass is a right of passage for drivers and cyclists, says Simon Heptinstall.

For most road trippers circumnavigating Australia would be a journey of months, maybe even years. John Mahoney did it less than a week. Non stop.

From the hutongs of Beijing to the majesty of the Great Wall, driving in China is a culture shock for Gavin Conway.

How many European countries can you drive through in a 24 hours? Simon Heptinstall once managed an even dozen.

The Toyota GR Yaris on the epic route of the 1993 Network Q RAC rally along the finest roads England, Wales and Scotland have to offer – strap in!

Gavin Green took a Range Rover on an ancient frankincense trail to Oman’s Empty Quarter in search of a lost city. A camel may well have been a better choice.

British Land Speed Record history runs deep at Pendine Sands. It was here that Malcom Campbell broke the 150mph barrier, although visitors today may find they can’t drive quite as quickly.

At one turn Cape Breton Island will do a very passable impression of a southern California coastline, at another, you’d swear the west of Scotland has cut loose and floated across the Atlantic, reckons Gavin Conway.

Shimmering heat haze, mesmerising mirages and an endless vanishing point are just some of the distractions of desert driving. Could you handle these hot, lonely drives?

Thought Arizona was all arid vanishing-point desert roads? Dan Trent goes off-piste to discover a hillier, twistier side…

Speed freaks and velocity-raptors of the globe, welcome to the world’s fastest roads.

Cutting a path parallel to the Indian-Pacific railway, Gavin Conway explores the vast emptiness of Australia’s Nullarbor Plain as he drives from Perth to Sydney.

The Swiss are spoilt for choice when it comes to amazing mountain roads. Start with the Oberalp Pass and you can easily tackle a quartet of challenging drives in a single day.

Following in the wheeltracks of the Ice Road Truckers, Gavin Conway tackles one of the most extreme drives on the planet: the Yukon’s Dempster Highway.