Drivelines
Scotland · Driving Roads/8 min read

The 10 best driving roads in Scotland.

Scotland offers some of the most spectacular driving terrain in Europe, from the wide glens of the north to the tighter, technical passes of the Borders. We have picked ten of the best, avoiding the tourist congestion in favour of pure driving reward.

By Drivelines·Published 06 May 2026
REGION OVERVIEW

Beyond the NC500

While the North Coast 500 dominates the headlines, Scotland’s best driving often lies further south. The Lowther Hills and the Scottish Borders conceal long, flowing, well-sighted A-roads and B-roads that see a fraction of the traffic. When you do head into the Highlands and islands, the key is knowing which stretches of tarmac reward precision rather than just a camera. These ten roads require different approaches, but each one highlights what makes Scottish driving unique.

Routes mapped
10
Total distance
307km
Avg curve idx
6.3/10
Map of all 10 routes in scotland
StartEnd
Plan a drive to North Hermitage Street (B6357)
10
B6357 · Scottish Borders · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

North Hermitage Street (B6357)

The B6357 is Liddesdale's spine: from the border at Kershopefoot, where Kershope Burn meets the Liddel Water, it follows the river north through Newcastleton, a planned weaving village of 1793, then six more miles up the dale to Saughtree and on into Wauchope Forest. Dual-track, mostly well surfaced and 21 miles long, it runs in long open radii rather than technical corners; a road for settled rhythm, with the Kielder turn at Saughtree the only real decision on the way.

The valley floods: Storm Dennis in February 2020 wrecked Dawston Bridge at Saughtree and shut the road for ten weeks that summer. Hermitage Castle, up the B6399 from the Hermitage Water junction, is closed November to March.

Distance
34.3km
Drive time
0h 38m
Curve idx
3.6/10
Climb
752m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to A816 (Kilmelford)
09
A816 · Argyll · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

A816 (Kilmelford)

Between Kilninver and Arduaine the A816 leaves Loch Feochan, climbs inland through Glen Gallain alongside the Oude Dam reservoir, then drops to the head of Loch Melfort at Kilmelford and follows the shore south. The 1956 hydro scheme is why the road runs where it does: the old coach road through the Pass of Melfort was largely lost when the River Oude was dammed. Wide, well-surfaced and consistently sighted, it asks for rhythm through a long chain of medium-speed corners rather than anything abrupt.

Arduaine Garden and the Loch Melfort Hotel sit at the mouth of the loch, about 20 miles out of Oban: the practical turnaround if you want to run the shoreline stretch in both directions.

Distance
14.8km
Drive time
0h 16m
Curve idx
6.4/10
Climb
260m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Main Street (A714)
08
A714 · South Ayrshire · Expert
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Main Street (A714)

Leaving Girvan at Shallochpark, the A714 turns its back on the coast and works fourteen miles inland to Barrhill through Pinmore and Pinwherry. It carries an unusually dense run of medium-radius bends for a two-lane A-road, on a surface that was relaid at the Girvan end in 2017, and offers very few straights long enough to relax on; it rewards vanishing-point reading and a settled, unhurried rhythm rather than pace.

The B734 that peels off at Pinwherry is too narrow for lorries, so coast-bound HGVs stay on the A714 with you; a Porsche and a Renault met badly near Pinwherry in September 2023, and the driver was charged.

Distance
23.6km
Drive time
0h 27m
Curve idx
8.4/10
Climb
322m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Drynie Hill (A861)
07
A861 · Morvern Peninsula · Spirited
Mixed widthVaried surface

Drynie Hill (A861)

From Strontian the A861 runs single track along the north shore of Loch Sunart to Salen, then turns inland through Acharacle, over Shiel Bridge and into Moidart, where it climbs Drynie Hill above Kinlochmoidart on the 1966 road to Lochailort. The character changes with the map: the loch-shore section is about reading passing places and the traffic on the only road west, the Moidart section about gradient and long crests. It rewards patience and a steady, well-judged pace.

The Drynie Hill picnic site above Kinlochmoidart is the one place on this stretch with proper parking and a view down Glen Moidart; campervans know it, so it fills early in summer.

Distance
42.8km
Drive time
0h 59m
Curve idx
6.5/10
Climb
623m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Achtercairn Brae (A832)
06
A832 · Wester Ross · Spirited
Dual-trackVaried surface

Achtercairn Brae (A832)

A vital artery through Wester Ross, this stretch manages to be both heavily trafficked in summer and utterly brilliant out of season. It is a classic Highland A-road, matching long, sighted straights with flowing, medium-speed turns. The varied surface requires a watchful eye, but the sheer scale of the landscape makes the drive feel effortless.

The northbound approach to Gairloch catches a surprising amount of morning glare off the sea, so keep sunglasses handy.

Distance
28km
Drive time
0h 39m
Curve idx
5.5/10
Climb
493m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Mennock Pass (B797)
05
B797 · Lowther Hills · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Mennock Pass (B797)

The B797 climbs the Mennock Water from the A76 to 467 m at Wanlockhead, Scotland's highest village, making it the highest of the three passes over the Lowther Hills. There is nothing in the valley but the road and the burn, and the corners are open, medium-radius and well sighted; the gradient sits at 2 to 3% for the first half and then steps up to around 12% below the village, which is where the sweeping rhythm turns into gradient management. Two-lane but narrow, with plenty of lay-bys.

Sheep own the tarmac above Wanlockhead and there is no street lighting between the villages; gritting is patchier south of Leadhills than on the Abington side, so in a cold snap the Mennock side of the pass is the one that goes first.

Distance
23.3km
Drive time
0h 33m
Curve idx
5.1/10
Climb
487m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Crow Road (B822)
04
B822 · Campsie Fells · Spirited
Dual-trackVaried surface

Crow Road (B822)

The B822 leaves Lennoxtown at close to 10% and switches back once before the gradient eases into a long moorland shelf between the Campsie Fells and the Kilsyth Hills, cresting at about 337 m before dropping more gently into Fintry and on to Kippen. The surface changes character with the exposure. The top has open sightlines across the lava plateau, the descents to either village are steeper and more enclosed, and the whole thing rewards patience on the way up and gentle braking on the way down.

The viewpoint car park sits on the sharp bend two miles up from Lennoxtown, not at the summit, and it fills with plane spotters and walkers on fine weekends; treat the exit from it as a blind junction.

Distance
25.2km
Drive time
0h 34m
Curve idx
6.1/10
Climb
488m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Lagg Bridge (C147)
03
C147 · Isle of Arran · Spirited
Dual-trackVaried surface

Lagg Bridge (C147)

This is the 32 miles of Arran's ring road the island lost as an A-road: the A841 between Dippen and Lochranza via Blackwaterfoot was downgraded in 2009, and the C147 now runs round the south coast and up the west. It keeps the bones of a trunk road, two lanes most of the way, but the south coast between Kildonan and Blackwaterfoot narrows to passing places in stretches, so the driving is about reading where the width gives out rather than hunting for corners. The Sliddery section is the most undulating, with a twisting drop to Sliddery Bridge and a climb straight back out.

The Ross Road joins between Sliddery and Lagg at the war memorial; it is single-track with passing places, so give anything emerging from it room. The Lagg Hotel, the oldest inn on Arran and dating from 1791, and the distillery that opened in 2019 are the obvious stops.

Distance
51.5km
Drive time
1h 23m
Curve idx
6.2/10
Climb
577m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Thomas Telford Road (B709)
02
B709 · Scottish Borders · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Thomas Telford Road (B709)

Named for the engineer born up the valley at Glendinning in 1757, this is the Eskdale half of Britain's 58-mile B709: out of Langholm along the Esk to Eskdalemuir, past the Samye Ling temple, then over high wet moorland and through the forestry to Ettrick and Tushielaw. The southern section is the fluent part, with open, well-sighted bends through sheep country, while the 16 miles between Eskdalemuir and Ettrick are single track with passing places. It rewards patience and looking a long way ahead rather than steering effort.

Timber lorries work this road and there is no phone signal for long stretches; the sharp left over Eskdalemuir Bridge by the church is where the road changes character, and it is a poor place to break down.

Distance
41.2km
Drive time
0h 51m
Curve idx
5.1/10
Climb
968m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Duke's Pass (A821)
01
A821 · Trossachs · Expert
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Duke's Pass (A821)

Built by the Duke of Montrose in 1885 as an estate road and opened to the public in 1931, the Duke's Pass climbs out of Aberfoyle through three hairpins at up to 9.9% to a 240-metre summit, then keeps changing direction through the forest all the way down to Loch Achray and Brig o' Turk before easing off towards Callander. The tarmac is smooth but the road is narrow, the crests are blind and no two corners are alike, so it rewards line-choice and steady inputs rather than pace. The AA was selling it as the classic Sunday drive in the 1950s and the description still fits.

Gravel washes across the bends after heavy rain and coaches use the pass all day in season; the quiet window is early evening, once the day traffic has gone.

Distance
22.7km
Drive time
0h 34m
Curve idx
10.0/10
Climb
403m
// KEEP READING
Sibling guide · Scenic
Top 10 scenic drives in Scotland
Parent region · Great Britain
Top 10 driving roads in Great Britain
Nearby · England
Top 10 driving roads in England
Nearby · Wales
Top 10 driving roads in Wales
Index · Every region
All Top 10 Field Guides

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