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NOW CLOSED. Competition: tell us about your best road trip to win £100 John Lewis vouchers

(142 Posts)

GNHQ have commented on this thread. Read here.

KatGransnet (GNHQ) Mon 13-Jun-16 08:01:20

The folks behind Go Ultra Low, a campaign to encourage people in the Uk to switch to electric cars, are on the lookout for passionate female car fans over the age of 60, for their #GranPrix competition.

It's not just young men who really enjoy getting behind the wheel, and Go Ultra Low know there are plenty of women over 60 who love their cars just as much as anyone else. You could win a fantastic track day and performance driving lessons in an electric car! To enter, visit this post on Go Ultra Low's Facebook page or email [email protected] with a maximum of 50 words about your love of cars and why you should win.

Go Ultra Low will then pick a shortlist of entrants to go through to the next round and be in with the chance of winning the prize! The competition closes at 11:59pm on 31 July and the winner of the prize must be happy to be filmed on the track day. Terms and conditions for the #Granprix competition can be found here.

Go Ultra Low are also offering £100 John Lewis voucher. Just tell us about the best road trip you've ever taken on the thread below.

Good luck!

coz Thu 07-Jul-16 22:33:43

We drove this route on a tour of the USA and Canada last year with a friend's band for 2 and a half weeks. Tiring but fun!

New York, N.Y> Providence, R.I.> New York, N.Y>
Hamilton, Ontario> Toronto, Ontario> Montreal, Quebec> Northfield, Ohio> Detroit, Michigan> Grand Rapids, Michigan> Fort Wayne, Ind> Marksville, La> Jackson, MS.

ScodieHo Thu 07-Jul-16 10:14:46

In 1974 we hired a van and drove around Toronto staying in various campsites and laybys. So many memories - listening to Nixon's resignation speech - we all crowded around a tiny TV (unusual on campsites in those days) The spectacular scenery, the bull frogs at night, Hudson Bay, The Polar Express. I read Joanna Munro's "Lives of Girls and Women" while I was out there and it became one of my favourite books. Happily this was the first of many trips.

libra10 Tue 05-Jul-16 07:43:32

The best road trip that I've ever taken was bringing my first child (a daughter) home from hospital.

She was born by Caesarean section and we were both in hospital through Christmas and the new year.

Bringing her home was the most wonderful, surreal experience of my life! The best, life-changing road trip ever!

Crazycatwoman Mon 04-Jul-16 18:58:12

The best road trip I ever did was two weeks spent in the Deep South of the USA. We flew to Atlanta and picked up a hire car which we then drove across the country. We drove up through Georgia to Chattanooga, Clarksville and Knoxville where Dollywood is based in the Tennessee Smokey Mountains. Staying mostly at modest motels providing comfortable but basic accommodation and breakfasts we then drove west through the countryside to Nashville where we spent three nights visiting all the legendary music spots including the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Oprey theatre where we saw the legendary Little Jimmie Dickens perform as the show was broadcast live on the radio. Next stop Memphis and a couple of nights in the luxury Peabody Hotel where we watched the daily routine of the ducks being led through the hotel lobby to and from the lift to reach the roof. Graceland was wonderful, not what I expected at all, and seeing where Elvis, Roy Orbison and "Gentleman" Jim Reeves recorded their songs at the Sun Studio was very moving. After visiting the motel and seeing the room where Martin Luther King was killed we moved on down south through the swamplands of the Mississippi to New Orleans, full of loud music and the only city in the USA where I haven't felt completely at ease; we took a trip on a Mississippi paddleboat and ate beignets, the local delicacy. After a couple of nights it was on again, heading eat this time through the towns of Alabama along the Gulf Coast, Montgomery, Birmingham and Biloxi with all their Civil Rights history to absorb. We went through Tuskagee and visited its statue commemorating their Airmen and passed endless numbers of different churches in this deeply-religious part of the USA. 1900 miles in all, what a trip.

sted Sun 03-Jul-16 14:44:11

Many years ago my husband and I were young teachers in Malaysia. We spent our two week holiday driving round the coast. We took tiny boats out to little islands, slept in the car, and got hauled out of a ditch by strangers at 2am when my husband's three point turn went a bit too far in the dark. It was wonderful snorkelling and seeing the most beautiful fish and being thrilled by the sight of so many creatures I had only ever seen on the telly. My husband got so enthralled he forgot to be sensible, and he was so sunburned on the back of legs (everything else being covered, ) he was excused driving duties for a couple of days. It was a brilliant time, I wish I could do it all again.

BPJ Sun 03-Jul-16 14:43:26

Our best road trip was from Stoke on Trent to Estaril in Spain, it took us four days to get there and four days to get back, stopping where we pleased and having some wonderful meals en route. the first night we were in Estoril we came back from having a meal and there was a car waiting to enter the site as it was secured for the night. "Where have you come from today?" I asked the driver. "At eight o'clock this morning we got off the ferry at Calais" he said, it was ten in the evening. ?????

Dartzie62 Sun 03-Jul-16 12:32:00

I have had several road trips and they all seem the best! But the one I would never have had the opportunity to do if it was for an amazing friend was from Chicago to Alaska by road.
Even though we spend hours in the car, there was always something new to see as the miles flew past. But the one thing that really sticks in my mind is the names of some of the places we went through: Beaver Creek, Chicken and Head-smashed In Buffalo Jump are three of my favourite.
Experiencing Native American PowWows, bears, mountain goats, beavers, swimming with Loons in Canada, Bald Eagles and sailing in the Sounds.
Totally amazing and something I will never forget

Lottie2tiger Sun 03-Jul-16 09:39:37

A few years ago we spent a couple of weeks driving round central turkey . We had a reasonably good map but on the smaller roads it didn't always distinguish between Tarmac and unmade roads. One evening we were trying to get a hotel for the night and were running low on petrol so decided to take a short cut across to the nearest major road. Unfortunately the road went up and up into the mountain where it then turned into more of a goat track than a road. We carried on in the hope if would change then admitted defeat and had to try and turn round on a precipice when the petrol light came on. Very scary and had to coast all the way back down to save fuel. We eventually found a road and petrol station and made it to the hotel hours late to be woken in the night by a major earthquake! A very memorable trip.

kittykomp Sat 02-Jul-16 19:29:10

Our honeymoon to Orlando and Miami

forestheather Sat 02-Jul-16 18:33:33

We took our 1976 MG Midget to the Circuit Historique in Laon. Driving through Picardy with many other classic cars and hundreds of locals cheering us on our way - we had a fantastic time. What a shame 'l'alternateur' broke returning to Calais, testing my schoolgirl French to it's limits!!

kellymobbs Sat 02-Jul-16 12:53:55

My best road trip was taking my twins to the seaside at Mablethorpe. Just spending that quality time together, windows open, music on and singing along like the Von Trapp family (so my partner says). Just the lovely views of the countryside and the sea is bliss.

Dannydog1 Fri 01-Jul-16 18:31:49

The Trough of Bowland in Lancashire. Spectacular views through unspoilt moorland with lots of stopping places. Great for bird watching and sheep watching for that matter. Never tire of it. The dog loves it as well especially the swimming opportunities.

karenbrady Fri 01-Jul-16 17:33:06

I lived in South Africa in the70's and we took a holiday driving(and sleeping in) a truck around the Garden route. We started in Johannesburg, drove down to Durban and around the south coast of Africa to Cape Town. It was fantastic but my epic drive was when I drove the 850 miles from Cape Town to Johannesburg only stopping for petrol.

Triplegranny Thu 30-Jun-16 22:33:32

Having driven from UK to Morocco alone aged 75, I was slightly apprehensive to face the Tizi n'Tichka pass. However,I knew that as I drive alone,I could turn back if it proved too challenging. Fortunately it proved an exhilarating drive with amazing views(though would have been more comprehensively viewed as a passenger !). I love driving!

jammy388 Thu 30-Jun-16 20:57:59

First holiday not with my family was with school friends, heading north from East Anglia and camping at various sites, my best friend driving. Thankfully she was cool headed as one of the other girls screamed every time we passed any other vehicle on the motorway.

hideandseekpig Thu 30-Jun-16 20:12:26

Definitely driving the scenic route down to the south of France - wonderful stops at pretty villages and beautiful countryside!

NannaM Thu 30-Jun-16 16:21:39

My daughter had just graduated high school, 18 years old. We took a 5,000 mile trip from Vancouver Island all the way down the west coast of the USA to the Mexican border, mostly on the awesomely scenic Pacific Coast Highway. I remember the frustration of trying to build a campfire in the damp BC forests, and getting so good at putting up our tent we could do it in a minute or less. The thrill of driving on the right on a California freeway with seven lanes n each direction! Roller Coaster rides where she strictly instructed me NOT to scream, and then proceeded to yell herself hoarse! Riding every Disneyland ride including "it's a small world" at least three times. Feeding dolphins at Sea World, riding the trollies in San Francisco. We fought like crazy, but it was the best best holiday I have ever had!

milkflake Thu 30-Jun-16 16:13:59

A couple come to mind, both in USA, our plane couldn't land in San Francisco because of fog. they took us all the way to LA then offered a 6 hour overnight bus ride to SF! As we had been travelling for hours from UK and were exhausted, I refused and asked for a hotel room which we got. They told us to get to the airport for 6am the next morning with no guarantee of a flight so we decided to hire a car and drive. It was a great road trip up the Pacific coast highway, the airline wouldn't pay the car hire bill but it was well worth the money.

The other was in Florida, before Sat Nav, and I had carefully printed out driving instructions for my husband to do the navigating ( he hates driving in USA) I like driving there. He did reasonably well for a while then got so mixed up and we ended up shouting at each other and he flung the maps into the back seat! We did get there eventually , how I don't know!

Maggiemaybe Thu 30-Jun-16 16:02:02

We had an unforgettable road trip taking our three children aged 2, 4 and 5 to Spain on a double decker bus. Started off well when our 2 year old got locked in the bus toilet at the departure point and the door had to be taken off to rescue him (and for some reason couldn't go back on, so we were popular). We had two minor crashes on the way out, and arrived hideously behind schedule. So we were all congratulating ourselves on having a much better journey home, when we broke down on the motorway back in England. We were in the middle of a heatwave (remember them?), the air con had failed and we were all hot, bothered and grouchy after about an hour of it. Then our 2 year old was spectacularly sick all over his dad, who passed him straight over to me so he could clean up. On the way across the aisle, dear son summoned up another supply of vomit to project straight over me. We (and every other passenger) had to endure another hour in those conditions combined with the heady smell of vomit throughout the bus. I'm surprised we weren't lynched.

Valski Thu 30-Jun-16 15:39:28

Hi all,

I am not a driver but the ultimate hell on earth road-trip brings back memories of our family fly drive holiday to the US of A.. The girls were about 14 and 16 then and my older daughter had been feeling car sick, so she had swapped into the front passenger seat. This wasn't an issue until we drove through Death Valley. My husband and older daughter seemed quite contented sitting in the front whilst me and our younger girl were in agony dehydrating in the back. I had to shroud us in white towels as we were so uncomfortable and even through the window good some terrible soreness from sunburn.

So by the end of the day we were all fairly frazzled and I had a little heated debate with my husband.. Is final comment was, "well we were fine in the front with the air conditioning on through Death Valley". I won't tell you how I responded!!

Val

mbody Thu 30-Jun-16 14:59:44

In 2012 we drove with two old friends from Boston to Orlamdo down the east coast of America. It took two weeks and we had a ball with so much laughter and fun each day. We saw sights to remember and visited some wonderful places, it's a trip which gave us all such memories.

langelei Thu 30-Jun-16 13:08:47

It was 1973 and we were waiting for our long awaited delivery of a new Land Rover. As soon as it arrived we were off with our 6 year-old son to visit Scotland for the first time ever. We headed up the west side visiting the most beautiful places and continued further on north. At Loch Carron we had the chance to meet up with some very dear friends, who had moved from Devon and whom we hadn't seen for some years and the stunning location they lived in. Continuing on back down the eastern side we ended up one dark, miserably rainy night in Dundee and could not find anywhere for the night except a dreary guesthouse where the curtain pole fell down when we tried to draw the curtains, the bed literally collapsed under us and a resident snorted like a pig the next morning at breakfast! All in all a lovely road trip introduction to a wonderful land but stays in the mind for the Dundee experience alone!

paulinecnd Thu 30-Jun-16 11:33:28

My best road trip was driving my 1958 registered A35 around the Snowdonia National Park in the 1970's. The car really struggled to get up the steeper hills but we had great fun. Happy days.

GeminiJen Thu 30-Jun-16 11:27:02

It was the summer of 1990..myself, daughter (17) and son (13).We were heading for Puy St Vincent in the French Alps. Friends had kindly offered us the use of their apartment for a few weeks. We'd stayed there the previous summer, loved the place, made good friends and were raring to go. Then, on the early morning ferry from Dover to Calais, the captain announced that French farmers and lorry drivers had blocked the exit from the port...Can't recall what they were striking about this time hmm He then informed us how to escape via the industrial estate, but warned that we wouldn't get very far if driving in France. So, quick consultation of the map and off we set..into Belgium, through Germany and on into Switzerland....eventually creeping back into France, where we made our way via some very minor roads, some barely more than farm tracks..arriving eventually at our destination, which was eerily quiet. The next morning we headed down to the boulangerie for our breakfast croissants and were greeted with looks of amazement from Monsieur and Madame, who demanded to know how we had got there. After listening to our account, punctuated by many "Ooh la las" from Madame, Monsieur exclaimed, "Un veritable autour de France!" ...and presented us with our croissants on the house grin

sammyislost Thu 30-Jun-16 10:55:55

We always love our road trips to Centre Parcs, we always stop at an English Heritage location to stretch our legs and enjoy some food! We saw the sunset at stonehenge once, it was so spectacular!