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Hartside Pass – Penrith to Corbridge – #lovedriving with webuycarsformore.com

This is part two of our #LoveDriving series, which will look at the best driving roads across the UK and discuss the things we love about driving.

This time, we look at another classic route in the North of England – the Hartside Pass that runs from Corbridge to Penrith (and back again!). This was picked out by the AA magazine as one of its Ten Great Drives.

Remember to drive safely – these are all stunning routes, so take your time, soak up the views and take plenty of breaks to enjoy the scenery. Have fun!

Hartside Pass – A686 from Penrith to Corbridge

First things first, this is a challenging drive and needs to be treated with respect, but rewards drivers with spectacular views across the northernmost tip of the Pennines and across the Solway Firth to Scotland.

There is the famous Hartside Cafe at roughly the half-way mark, ideal for stopping for lunch. They only take cash, though, so make sure you have some on you, or a picnic of your own!

The road features some magnificent sweeping corners, tight hairpins that will require heavy braking and second gear (or sometimes first if you’re going uphill) and relatively few overtaking spots. So stay patient and just enjoy the scenery.

Remember, if you’re looking for a new car to help reinvigorate your love of driving, we can offer you the best trade-in prices for your car around, and we have a lot of exceptional pre-owned cars in stock too.

Webuycarsformore.com has picked out two cars to suit different budgets that would be ideal for the Hartside Pass – one junior supercar, the Porsche 911, and one rally replica, the Subaru Impreza WRX, that have more in common than meets the eye.

Both have horizontal engines – the Porsche has a flat six-cylinder, the Subaru a flat four – giving low centres of gravity, but crucially both come with four-wheel-drive and plenty of power to navigate those challenging bends comfortably and safely.

This stunning Porsche 911 convertible comes with full leather interior, stunning blue paintwork and alloys. At a much lower cost, but offering arguably just as many thrills, is this Subaru Impreza WRX. It’s not the ‘full-fat’ STi version, but its flat-four ‘boxer’ 2.5 litre engine puts out around 226bhp and there is enough room to seat four people in comfort – as well as all your gear for a weekend away.