The best driving roads in northern England

Between the Lakes, the Dales and the Peaks, northern England packs more legendary tarmac per mile than anywhere south of the border.

Hardknott and Wrynose Passes, Lake District

England's steepest road: 1 in 3, hairpins, Roman ruins and a sheep audience. Respect it in the wet and skip it entirely in ice. Our Hardknott route runs Ambleside to the coast at Ravenglass.

Buttertubs Pass, Yorkshire Dales

Clarkson's "only truly spectacular road in England" links Wensleydale and Swaledale over a moor-top with its namesake limestone potholes at the summit. The full Dales loop adds Wharfedale and Aysgarth Falls.

The Snake Pass, Peak District

The A57 over the moors between Glossop and Ladybower: sweeping, remote-feeling and regularly voted a national favourite. Check it is open in winter; it closes often.

The Cat and Fiddle, Peak District

Buxton to Macclesfield on the A537, a flowing moorland ribbon that road testers used for decades. Average-speed cameras keep it honest now; the corners are the reward, not the speed. Both Peak roads star in our Snake Pass and Cat and Fiddle loop, which finishes beneath Winnats Pass.

Honourable mentions

• Kirkstone Pass (Lakes): the "Struggle" from Ambleside is aptly named.
• Tan Hill road (Dales): to Britain's highest pub, across proper emptiness.
• Trough of Bowland (Lancashire): the north's best-kept secret.