To someone from Flanders, British roads may as well be driving heaven
It’s tempting to decry pothole-ridden roads, speed cameras and middle-lane hoggers – and, yes, if you spend most of your life on or inside the M25, driving can be pretty dismal.
On the other hand, self-deprecation is a uniquely British gift. It’s part of what has made British comedy beloved around the world. So take it from someone who didn’t grow up here: Britain is a brilliant country in which to be a car enthusiast.
Let me start with a few boring but actually very important reasons. Britain’s past as a carmaking giant means it has long had relatively favourable tax conditions for motorists. Sure, paying £5490 the first year and then £620 for five years after that isn’t fun, but that’s the worst case and nothing compared with rates in many other countries – particularly for something that’s considered a luxury good.
You want French number plates on your Toyota GR Yaris? That will be an extra €70,000, please. And matters aren’t much better in other places.
British authorities also have a pleasingly laissez-faire attitude to speed. Although there are no derestricted autobahns, the 60mph speed limit on secondary roads is pretty agreeable. Only Germany does (marginally) better, with its 100kph (62mph). And if you did want to take some liberties, all speed cameras are painted bright yellow instead of being hidden in dustbins, like they are in Belgium.
On many roads, it would be suicidal/homicidal to actually do 60mph, but the authorities seemingly assume that you will be sensible. I like that kind of trust. And, by the way, if you’re not having fun on a twisty road without going over 60mph, the problem is the car, not the speed limit.
There are a lot of great roads here, too. Because Britain has long had relatively sensible planning laws, towns generally have fairly clear borders and give out to open countryside rather than sprawling. And because Britain has topography and a web of haphazardly laid-out fields and land borders, countryside roads have corners in them, as well as nice scenery. You really don’t have to go to rural Wales or Scotland to have a good time (although I would recommend it from time to time).
I’ve lived in a few places around England, and there has always been a relatively quiet road to and from nowhere in particular on which it has been enjoyable to exercise a car. These are a different sort of driving road to those you find in the south of France or Spain.
Instead of Tarmac snaking endlessly through the mountains, roads in England tend to be bittier, punctuated by villages. But I like the cadence that this offers. Having to slow to 30mph to pass through a village stops you losing yourself and starting to treat the road like a race track. It also offers a place to stop, have a breather and visit a cafe for some lunch. And if the roads don’t take your fancy after all, the UK must have one of the highest concentrations of tracks of any country.
All of this has helped to foster a great devotion to the car. There are few places with so many car enthusiasts, where you see so many interesting cars either driving around or for sale at quite reasonable prices. Motorsport is teeming with life, both at the grassroots level, with hillclimbs and autotests, and at the elite level. There’s no Motorsport Valley in Norway. And without wanting to toot our own horn too much, Britain has the best car magazines. I moved here because I wanted to be part of that.
God save the B-road. Long may it continue to be a haven for the car-mad.
