Drivelines
England · South West/8 min read

The 10 best driving roads in the South West.

Exmoor, Dartmoor, and the Atlantic Highway. This is a region defined by stark contrasts, where high moors drop suddenly into the deep Atlantic coast.

By Drivelines·Published 06 May 2026
REGION OVERVIEW

High moors and deep coasts

The South West offers a driving environment unlike anywhere else in the UK. The roads here are shaped by the dramatic geography, draped over the exposed granite of Dartmoor or carved into the sheer coastal cliffs of Cornwall. It is a region that demands respect for its changing surfaces and unpredictable weather, but it rewards the attentive driver with a rugged, elemental flow.

Routes mapped
10
Total distance
205km
Avg curve idx
7.8/10
Map of all 10 routes in england-south-west
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Penally Hill (B3263)
10
B3263 · Boscastle · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Penally Hill (B3263)

A majestic sweep of tarmac clinging to the north Cornish coastline near Boscastle. Wide enough to breathe but intimate enough to stay interesting, it rises and falls over the rugged terrain with sweeping, open bends that make for a phenomenally relaxing coastal tour.

The climb out of the harbour valley holds onto morning mist long after the plateau above is clear.

Distance
20.7km
Drive time
0h 29m
Curve idx
5.3/10
Climb
392m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Clay Pits Way (B3193)
09
B3193 · Teign Valley · Easy
Dual-trackVaried surface

Clay Pits Way (B3193)

The B3193 threads the Teign Valley for 11 miles from the A38 at Chudleigh Knighton up to Dunsford on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, following the valley floor the old Teign Valley railway used until floods finished it in 1961. It is wide enough for two, which the lanes off it up to Christow and Trusham are not, and it flows through medium-radius bends with the river never far away. It rewards a settled pace and attention to what the valley trees hide.

Christow and Trusham sit just off the road up single-track lanes; the Cridford Inn at Trusham is the stop, and Dunsford Woods at the top end is the wild-daffodil walk in spring.

Distance
17.3km
Drive time
0h 23m
Curve idx
5.8/10
Climb
372m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Cutcombe Hill (A396)
08
A396 · Wheddon Cross · Spirited
Dual-trackVaried surface

Cutcombe Hill (A396)

The A396 follows the Exe north from the Devon border at Exebridge, past the Dulverton turn and up the wooded Quarme valley to the crossroads at Wheddon Cross, then falls down Cutcombe Hill to Timberscombe and Dunster. Cutcombe Hill is the set piece: 230 m of height over 5.5 km, mostly under trees, with a single hairpin and a steepest pitch near 10%. It is a road of gradient management and sightlines you have to wait for, not of speed.

After a coach crash in July 2025 Cutcombe Hill spent months under temporary signals and a 20 mph section, with overnight repair closures the following winter, so check for works before an evening run. Treat the hairpin as a place to be fully slowed rather than trailing the brakes.

Distance
35.9km
Drive time
0h 43m
Curve idx
6.3/10
Climb
835m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Longdown Road (B3212)
07
B3212 · Longdown · Spirited
Mixed widthSmooth surface

Longdown Road (B3212)

Striking out from the edge of Exeter towards Dartmoor, the B3212 transitions beautifully from sheltered lanes into wilder upland territory. It requires an active read of the road, balancing flowing sections with suddenly tightening radii as it crosses the ridges.

Sightlines improve dramatically once past Longdown village, but watch for stray livestock on the unfenced moorland stretches.

Distance
21.3km
Drive time
0h 37m
Curve idx
7.6/10
Climb
447m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to The Ridges (A379)
06
A379 · Dartmouth · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

The Ridges (A379)

Climbing away from the Dart estuary, this short stretch of the A379 is intense and heavily cambered. It strings together a sharp succession of tight, ascending bends that demand careful throttle management to carry momentum uphill without unsettling the chassis.

Watch for sudden transitions from bright sunlight into deep, tree-lined shadow just before the primary school junction.

Distance
10.2km
Drive time
0h 17m
Curve idx
9.1/10
Climb
244m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Watersmeet Road (A39)
05
A39 · Lynmouth · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Watersmeet Road (A39)

Sixteen miles of the A39 from Blackmoor Gate, the 1,000 ft western gate of Exmoor, down through Barbrook and the Hillsford Bridge hairpin into the wooded Watersmeet gorge, then out of Lynmouth up Countisbury Hill and along the cliff-top toward the Somerset side. In the gorge the A39 is too narrow for a centre line, squeezes through the National Trust car park at Watersmeet House and runs a couple of miles as single-track with passing places on blind bends; beyond Lynmouth it climbs 1,300 ft in about two and a half miles with a 25 per cent pitch at the foot. The curves themselves are predictable, but this is an A-road that asks for patience more than most.

Meeting something in the Watersmeet single-track is a given: the passing places sit on blind bends against the rock, so go in slowly and be the one who waits. Cattle grids and ponies mark the top of Countisbury.

Distance
27.1km
Drive time
0h 32m
Curve idx
5.6/10
Climb
649m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Watergate Road (B3276)
04
B3276 · Newquay · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Watergate Road (B3276)

The B3276 is the coast road from Newquay toward Padstow, and for thirteen miles it drops into and climbs out of one valley after another: Watergate Bay, Mawgan Porth where the Menalhyl reaches the sea between high cliffs, the Carnewas cliffs above Bedruthan Steps, then Porthcothan and the Seven Bays around St Merryn. The road is rarely level and the curve density is near the top of the UK set, yet the tarmac is unusually good for a Cornish B-road; it rewards smooth inputs on the descents and patience behind whatever is climbing ahead.

Beach traffic sets the pace in summer: the Watergate Bay beachfront car park fills fast and Mawgan Porth's is close to full by ten in peak season, so cars turning into and out of the beaches are the hazard, not the corners.

Distance
22.1km
Drive time
0h 32m
Curve idx
9.2/10
Climb
450m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Chywoone Hill (B3315)
03
B3315 · Newlyn · Expert
Mixed widthVaried surface

Chywoone Hill (B3315)

The B3315 leaves Newlyn harbour, England's biggest fishing port by tonnage, up Chywoone Hill, a climb the town council has said is unsuitable for through traffic, then runs 11 miles of hedge-walled Penwith lane past the Lamorna turn, the Merry Maidens and the Treen spur towards Land's End. The curvature is exceptional for a B-road: it never straightens for long and the walls take the sightlines with them. It rewards patience and a line held in the middle of your own half.

The Merry Maidens have a small lay-by on the south side half a mile past the Lamorna turn. The open-top Land's End Coaster buses use this road, so expect to stop behind one on the hill.

Distance
17.8km
Drive time
0h 29m
Curve idx
9.9/10
Climb
335m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Higher Stennack (B3306)
02
B3306 · St Ives · Expert
Mixed widthSmooth surface

Higher Stennack (B3306)

Leaving St Ives as Higher Stennack, the B3306 runs thirteen miles along the north coast of Penwith through Zennor, Morvah and Pendeen to St Just, moor on one side and the Celtic Sea on the other. It is tight, twisting and narrow, with cattle grids and places where one of you will be reversing, and regulars reckon the best of it is in the first five miles out of St Ives. The blind crests and late-apex corners between granite hedges reward line-choice at a pace that leaves room for the tractor. Between Pendeen and St Just it passes the Geevor, Levant and Botallack engine houses of the mining World Heritage Site.

Coaches use it all summer and locals say avoid July to September; a spring morning is the time. The Carn Galver engine houses between Zennor and Morvah are the sensible place to pull off and look.

Distance
20.7km
Drive time
0h 36m
Curve idx
9.6/10
Climb
401m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Cliff Road (B3135)
01
B3135 · Cheddar Gorge · Expert
Dual-trackVaried surface

Cliff Road (B3135)

Cliff Road climbs out of Cheddar between limestone walls up to 137 m high, gaining 194 m in 4.6 km through three hairpins with a steepest pitch quoted anywhere from 11% to 16%. Above the gorge the B3135 crosses the Mendip plateau past Priddy at 260 m and the hairpins give way to open, sighted sweepers. The lower half rewards precise placement at walking-pace speeds; the upper half rewards smoothness.

Half a million people visit the gorge a year and the limit through it is 30 to 40, so go before eight. Somerset shut the road for five weeks in autumn 2022 to scale loose rock, and cliff run-off keeps the shaded bends wet.

Distance
11.7km
Drive time
0h 17m
Curve idx
9.4/10
Climb
312m
// KEEP READING
Sibling guide · Scenic
Top 10 scenic drives in the South West
Parent region · England
Top 10 driving roads in England
Nearby · The east of England
Top 10 driving roads in the east of England
Nearby · London and the Home Counties
Top 10 driving roads in London and the Home Counties
Nearby · The Midlands
Top 10 driving roads in the Midlands
Index · Every region
All Top 10 Field Guides

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