ROAD 5: OUT & ABOUT

And while the Pom’ (as its known by hardcore fans) has a serious reason (and in the past one of its winners has been a Mark Three Cortina), it’s summed up by the fact that fun can come so early in the year. Who needs to wait ‘til Summer?

West Wales to Silverstone and back….

So you want to get to Silverstone with the minimum of hassle? That’ll be the M4 then.

But the return journey needn’t be so dull – and cutting cross country from the ‘Stone down towards Gloucester before picking up the M5 takes little extra time, shaves a good few miles off the trip, and gets you on some more exciting roads: Diving off the A43 before hitting Junction 10 of the M40, take the B4031 through Aynho and Deddington down to the A361 to Chipping Norton – where the VSCC’s offices are. There’s a short, duller blast westwards on the A44 before branching left on to the A436 to Stow-on-the–Wold, which is a delight, apart from the potholes and severe wear in the middle, which can catch you out: low-profile tyre friendly this road definitely ain’t.

Along the way there are plenty of decent pubs offering food, vital after the cold of Silverstone – and who needs motorway services when you can get decent grub plus a pint for appreciably less? You’re then on the A429, parts of which are a cracking drive, before picking up the A40 and then the M5. Of course you could stick on the A40 back to Carmarthen, which is an increasingly appealing offering, especially now the M4 suffers from ludicrously-lengthy roadworks and average speed cameras… roadmagazine.co.uk