Follow Craig and Bruno on their drives around Britain’s loveliest landmarks
Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips Wednesday 8.00pm ITV
Ed Grenby - 5 August 2021
Eyes on the road! Look beyond the attention-grabbing antics and bickering of Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli on their Great British Road Trips, and you’ll see some truly majestic drives. And if you’ve been moved to follow in the Strictly boys’ tap shoes, here’s how…
AROUND/ACROSS THE LAKES
Start: Craig and Bruno kicked off in Kendal – from there it’s just 15 minutes to Bowness Nab on Windermere and the chain ferry across the lake.
Finish: Keswick. Its Pencil Museum may be nothing to write home about, but the town’s position beside serene Derwentwater is worth the drive alone.
Route: Cruise west past Coniston Water then up over Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass (above left) – arguably the two most hair-raising but beautiful roads in Britain. After that, the A595, B5292 and B5289 will wind you round the edge of the Lake District National Park and a procession of postcard-pretty meres.
Pull over: The pair stopped at Honister Slate Mine (honister. com), whose impressive history and vistas you can explore at various adrenaline levels (“Infinity Bridge, anyone?”). And after: You’ve done threequarters of a loop. Finish it off and you’ll pass Wordsworth’s cottage at Grasmere en route back to Kendal.
LOWLANDS TO HIGHLANDS
Start: Glasgow’s museums and galleries make it a destination in its own right. Tear yourself away to head off on the Great Western Road (less romantically, the A82). Finish: Inverlochy Castle (left) in the Highlands, just beyond Fort William in the shadow of Ben Nevis.
Route: The A82 all the way – along the scenic shores of Loch Lomond, through the softly rolling Trossachs and on past echoing Loch Linnhe and its evocatively ruined Castle Stalker.
Pull over: Glen Etive is well worth the 30-minute detour. You’ll recognise it as the location of 007’s ancestral home in Skyfall.
And after: At Inverlochy, you’re only 45 minutes from Loch Ness. You never know…
UP AND DOWN THE DALES
Start: Skipton is laid out like a welcome mat on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Head east to Bolton Bridge, then turn north.
Finish: Craig and Bruno ended up at the Cross View Tea Rooms in Richmond (crossviewtearooms.co.uk), where the knickerbocker glory is a retro sensation.
Route: The chaps zigzagged north, with stops at Upper Wharfedale for a spot of cricket, Malham for its working smithy and Ribblehead Viaduct for its 24-arched magnificence.
Pull over: Britain’s best lay-by? At Buttertubs Pass, the Dales views are immense, but the main attraction is the eye-wideningly deep potholes (into which local farmers would lower their butter to keep it cool).
And after: Continue south (head for prettierthan-it-sounds Blubberhouses) and you’ll end up almost back at Skipton.
CRUISING THE COTSWOLDS
Start: The Mendips make a perfect hors d’oeuvre, so begin with Cheddar before heading towards Bath.
Finish: The Strictly twosome wrapped up their trip in the honey-stone village of Broadway on the edge of the Vale of Evesham.
Route: Heading north-east takes you through all the Cotswolds’ hotspots – Malmesbury’s timeless Abbey House Gardens (abbeyhouse gardens.co.uk), decorous Cirencester and whimsical Bourton-on-the-Water, whose elegant stone bridges make it “the Venice of Gloucestershire”.
Pull over: Chipping Campden is another exquisite town, just off the road to Broadway.
And after: Stay at Broadway’s gorgeous Crown & Trumpet inn (crownandtrumpet.co.uk) and make a weekend of it.
COASTING THROUGH CORNWALL
Start: Begin at Padstow, for its harbour views and Rick Stein-inspired seafood scene.
Finish: Craig and Bruno took a dip in Penzance’s sea-water Jubilee Pool (jubileepool.co.uk). Bruno was horrified to find it unheated, but there is a geothermally heated section, too.
Route: Skirt busy Newquay, skim the north Cornwall shore all the way down to arty St Ives, then drink in the views of the Tin Coast as the B3306 carries you almost to Land’s End, then curl back through Porthcurno. Pull over: The Minack, an openair theatre carved out of the cliffs, wows all-comers (minack.com).
And after: Keep driving, and you’ll hit Cornwall’s quieter Lizard and Roseland Heritage Coasts.
SNOWDONIA AND BEYOND
Start: Craig and Bruno sallied forth from Harlech, where Edward I’s doughty 13th century castle glowers above the town (cadw.gov.wales).
Finish: You’ ll know when you’ve reached the RSPB’s reserve at South Stack as you can’t go any further – it’s at the very far end of Holy Island on the extreme edge of Anglesey. The cries of the 9,000 resident seabirds are a giveaway.
Route: Go north past Portmeirion (where Patrick McGoohan was The Prisoner), dramatic Llanberis Pass and Snowdon itself – before crossing to Anglesey via the Menai Bridge.
Pull over: Despite never being finished, Beaumaris on Anglesey (cadw.gov.wales) is perhaps Britain’s most perfect castle – complete with symmetrical concentric defensive walls, dozens of turrets and a moat. And after: You’re just 15 minutes from Holyhead and the ferry to Dublin. There are pretty nice drives in Ireland, too…
ED GRENBY
Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips Wednesday 8.00pm ITV
Eyes on the road! Look beyond the attention-grabbing antics and bickering of Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli on their Great British Road Trips, and you’ll see some truly majestic drives. And if you’ve been moved to follow in the Strictly boys’ tap shoes, here’s how…
AROUND/ACROSS THE LAKES
Start: Craig and Bruno kicked off in Kendal – from there it’s just 15 minutes to Bowness Nab on Windermere and the chain ferry across the lake.
Finish: Keswick. Its Pencil Museum may be nothing to write home about, but the town’s position beside serene Derwentwater is worth the drive alone.
Route: Cruise west past Coniston Water then up over Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass (above left) – arguably the two most hair-raising but beautiful roads in Britain. After that, the A595, B5292 and B5289 will wind you round the edge of the Lake District National Park and a procession of postcard-pretty meres.
Pull over: The pair stopped at Honister Slate Mine (honister. com), whose impressive history and vistas you can explore at various adrenaline levels (“Infinity Bridge, anyone?”). And after: You’ve done threequarters of a loop. Finish it off and you’ll pass Wordsworth’s cottage at Grasmere en route back to Kendal.
LOWLANDS TO HIGHLANDS
Start: Glasgow’s museums and galleries make it a destination in its own right. Tear yourself away to head off on the Great Western Road (less romantically, the A82). Finish: Inverlochy Castle (left) in the Highlands, just beyond Fort William in the shadow of Ben Nevis.
Route: The A82 all the way – along the scenic shores of Loch Lomond, through the softly rolling Trossachs and on past echoing Loch Linnhe and its evocatively ruined Castle Stalker.
Pull over: Glen Etive is well worth the 30-minute detour. You’ll recognise it as the location of 007’s ancestral home in Skyfall.
And after: At Inverlochy, you’re only 45 minutes from Loch Ness. You never know…
UP AND DOWN THE DALES
Start: Skipton is laid out like a welcome mat on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Head east to Bolton Bridge, then turn north.
Finish: Craig and Bruno ended up at the Cross View Tea Rooms in Richmond (crossviewtearooms.co.uk), where the knickerbocker glory is a retro sensation.
Route: The chaps zigzagged north, with stops at Upper Wharfedale for a spot of cricket, Malham for its working smithy and Ribblehead Viaduct for its 24-arched magnificence.
Pull over: Britain’s best lay-by? At Buttertubs Pass, the Dales views are immense, but the main attraction is the eye-wideningly deep potholes (into which local farmers would lower their butter to keep it cool).
And after: Continue south (head for prettierthan-it-sounds Blubberhouses) and you’ll end up almost back at Skipton.
CRUISING THE COTSWOLDS
Start: The Mendips make a perfect hors d’oeuvre, so begin with Cheddar before heading towards Bath.
Finish: The Strictly twosome wrapped up their trip in the honey-stone village of Broadway on the edge of the Vale of Evesham.
Route: Heading north-east takes you through all the Cotswolds’ hotspots – Malmesbury’s timeless Abbey House Gardens (abbeyhouse gardens.co.uk), decorous Cirencester and whimsical Bourton-on-the-Water, whose elegant stone bridges make it “the Venice of Gloucestershire”.
Pull over: Chipping Campden is another exquisite town, just off the road to Broadway.
And after: Stay at Broadway’s gorgeous Crown & Trumpet inn (crownandtrumpet.co.uk) and make a weekend of it.
COASTING THROUGH CORNWALL
Start: Begin at Padstow, for its harbour views and Rick Stein-inspired seafood scene.
Finish: Craig and Bruno took a dip in Penzance’s sea-water Jubilee Pool (jubileepool.co.uk). Bruno was horrified to find it unheated, but there is a geothermally heated section, too.
Route: Skirt busy Newquay, skim the north Cornwall shore all the way down to arty St Ives, then drink in the views of the Tin Coast as the B3306 carries you almost to Land’s End, then curl back through Porthcurno. Pull over: The Minack, an openair theatre carved out of the cliffs, wows all-comers (minack.com).
And after: Keep driving, and you’ll hit Cornwall’s quieter Lizard and Roseland Heritage Coasts.
SNOWDONIA AND BEYOND
Start: Craig and Bruno sallied forth from Harlech, where Edward I’s doughty 13th century castle glowers above the town (cadw.gov.wales).
Finish: You’ ll know when you’ve reached the RSPB’s reserve at South Stack as you can’t go any further – it’s at the very far end of Holy Island on the extreme edge of Anglesey. The cries of the 9,000 resident seabirds are a giveaway.
Route: Go north past Portmeirion (where Patrick McGoohan was The Prisoner), dramatic Llanberis Pass and Snowdon itself – before crossing to Anglesey via the Menai Bridge.
Pull over: Despite never being finished, Beaumaris on Anglesey (cadw.gov.wales) is perhaps Britain’s most perfect castle – complete with symmetrical concentric defensive walls, dozens of turrets and a moat. And after: You’re just 15 minutes from Holyhead and the ferry to Dublin. There are pretty nice drives in Ireland, too…
ED GRENBY
Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips Wednesday 8.00pm ITV