The best autumn drives in the UK and Europe

There is something different about driving in autumn.

Perhaps it is the early morning air. The cold start. The first trace of condensation on the glass. Or that low, lingering sunrise that seems to illuminate the road rather than simply rise above it.

Summer makes road trips easy. Autumn makes them atmospheric.

The crowds begin to thin. Roads that were busy a few weeks earlier become quieter. Hillsides turn from green to burnt orange and gold, forests close around the road and the light changes completely. Even familiar roads can feel new again.

And perhaps most importantly, autumn encourages you to slow the trip down.

To pull over when the view opens up. To walk a little further from the car. To find somewhere for coffee while the mist lifts from the valley. To watch the sun disappear behind the hills rather than worrying about squeezing another hundred miles into the day.

For drivers, it can be one of the most rewarding times of the year to explore.

Here are some of our favourite autumn drives in the UK and Europe, starting close to home.

The best autumn drives in the UK

You do not need an Alpine pass to have a memorable autumn drive.

Britain’s combination of woodland, moorland, mountains and fast-changing weather arguably becomes more interesting as summer disappears. From a morning in the Surrey Hills to several days crossing the Scottish Highlands, some of the best UK road trips come into their own between September and November.

For more ideas across the country, start with our guide to the best UK road trips.

Surrey Hills: an autumn escape close to London

Sometimes the best drive is the one you can do tomorrow morning.

The Surrey Hills are particularly good at this time of year. There is no single hero road here. Instead, the pleasure comes from joining together stretches of road through woodland, villages, hills and open viewpoints.

A route from Newlands Corner through Shere, Gomshall and Abinger Hammer towards Dorking, before working in Box Hill and Leith Hill, makes an excellent autumn morning.

Start early enough and there is a good chance you will catch the first light across the North Downs. Later, the smaller roads around Leith Hill and Abinger become enclosed by woodland, with autumn colour almost touching the road from either side.

It is not Scotland. It does not need to be.

This is a reminder that a proper drive can begin less than an hour from London.

If that sounds like your sort of escape, our best road trips from London guide has more routes that turn a free day into something considerably better.

The Lake District: mountain passes in changing colour

The Lake District rarely needs help looking dramatic, but autumn gives it another layer.

Bracken turns copper across the fells. Woodland around the valleys begins to glow. Mist gathers over the lakes in the morning, while the higher roads can feel considerably more remote once the summer traffic starts to disappear.

Hardknott and Wrynose Passes remain two of the headline roads, although both are narrow, steep and demanding. They are roads to approach with respect rather than roads to conquer.

Elsewhere, Kirkstone Pass, Honister Pass and Newlands Pass allow you to create a broader Lake District route where the scenery and the driving work together.

That is really the point here. Don’t spend the whole weekend collecting passes.

Stop beside the water. Walk for half an hour. Find lunch. Let the weather change. Then find another road.

Our Lake District driving routes guide links several of the region’s standout roads into a two-day itinerary and explains which passes may suit different cars and drivers.

Yorkshire Dales: Buttertubs, moorland and big skies

Autumn suits the Yorkshire Dales.

The landscape becomes more muted, the moors darker and the roads somehow more purposeful beneath a grey sky.

Buttertubs Pass, between Hawes and Thwaite, is the obvious name, but once again the best journey is bigger than one stretch of tarmac.

Link it with Swaledale, Arkengarthdale, the B6259 towards Ribblehead and the quieter roads around Nidderdale, and you begin to get a route with real depth.

This is not a place that demands speed. It rewards rhythm.

A crest reveals another valley. Stone walls frame the road. Villages arrive just when it feels like time for coffee. Then the landscape opens up again.

Our Yorkshire Dales road trip gives you a two-day starting point around Buttertubs, Swaledale and Ribblehead.

Peak District: Winnats Pass and an easy autumn weekend

For anyone wanting a shorter autumn road trip in the UK, the Peak District is difficult to overlook.

It packs a remarkable amount into a relatively compact area: exposed moorland, reservoirs, limestone valleys, villages and roads that can change character remarkably quickly.

Winnats Pass provides the theatre, climbing between steep limestone walls above Castleton.

But build it into a wider loop and the region becomes much more rewarding. Snake Pass, Ladybower Reservoir, the Cat and Fiddle area and Holme Moss can all form part of a driving-focused weekend.

The attraction in autumn is the contrast. Open moorland one moment, sheltered valley the next. Bright morning sunshine can turn into rolling mist remarkably quickly.

See our Peak District road trip for a route linking some of the area’s best-known driving roads.

Wales: Black Mountain, Abergwesyn and roads made for the long way round

Wales can deliver almost everything you could want from an autumn road trip.

In the south, the A4069 Black Mountain Pass rises into open moorland with sweeping views and changing elevation.

Further north, Abergwesyn Pass and the Devil’s Staircase offer something more remote: narrower roads, woodland and moorland threaded together through Mid Wales.

Continue towards North Wales and the scale changes again.

The roads through and around Eryri move between mountains, lakes and valleys, creating the sort of journey where an hour on the map rarely feels like only an hour once you are there.

Autumn only amplifies it.

For a taste of what a bigger Welsh driving weekend can look like, read about our two-day North Wales road trip.

Scotland: Glencoe, Glenshee and the west coast

Then there is Scotland.

If autumn encourages you to embrace the landscape as much as the driving, few places do it better.

The A82 through Glencoe is one of Britain’s great journeys. Mountains rise abruptly around the road, waterfalls appear after rain and the landscape seems to change with every shift in the weather.

Further east, the A93 through Glenshee offers more open, flowing terrain through the Cairngorms.

And if conditions allow, Bealach na Bà towards Applecross provides one of the most memorable pieces of road in Britain, climbing steeply before opening towards the west coast.

But Scotland should never be reduced to one pass.

Lochs, forests, single-track roads, ferry crossings and the spaces between the famous sections are all part of what makes a Scottish road trip work.

September can be particularly appealing, combining useful daylight with a little less pressure than the peak summer months. As autumn moves on, though, shorter days and more changeable conditions make flexibility increasingly important.

Explore the country properly with our Scotland road trip guide.

The best autumn drives in Europe

Cross the Channel and autumn creates a different opportunity.

September and early October can provide that wonderful overlap where the high mountains are beginning to change colour but many of the great driving roads remain accessible.

Later in the season, the focus begins to shift down from the highest Alpine passes towards forests, vineyards and lower routes.

That transition is part of the appeal.

If you’re beginning in Britain, our guide to the best European road trips from the UK is a good place to continue planning.

The Dolomites, Italy: perhaps the definitive autumn mountain drive

There are places that look as though they were designed specifically for autumn.

The Dolomites might be one of them.

Huge pale rock faces rise above forests of larch that move from green to yellow and gold. Early snow can dust the highest peaks while the valleys below remain firmly in autumn.

And between it all are some extraordinary roads.

The classic Sella Ronda links Passo Pordoi, Passo Campolongo, Passo Gardena and Passo Sella in a natural loop around the Sella massif.

Add Passo Giau, Falzarego and Fedaia, and several days disappear remarkably quickly.

September and early autumn can mean cooler temperatures and fewer holiday visitors than peak summer, but mountain conditions can change rapidly. High passes should never be assumed to be open simply because they were accessible on a previous trip.

We have gone much deeper into the region in our Dolomites driving routes guide and our wider guide to road trips in Italy.

South Tyrol: wine roads instead of mountain passes

Not every great autumn drive needs to climb towards 2,000 metres.

As the season progresses, South Tyrol’s wine country becomes a brilliant alternative to the high mountains.

The roads around Bolzano, Caldaro and the wider Alto Adige wine region move through vineyards, orchards, castles and small towns, with the landscape changing colour around you.

It is a different sort of road trip.

Fewer hero corners. More reasons to stop.

And that is often exactly what makes an autumn journey memorable.

Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is one of those roads that barely seems believable when viewed from above.

Around 48 kilometres of high mountain road and 36 hairpin bends climb through the Hohe Tauern, moving from forests into an increasingly stark Alpine landscape.

Autumn adds another contrast: golden larch lower down and increasingly wintry scenery at altitude.

The road’s operator specifically highlights September and October as an autumn experience, but this is a seasonal road. In 2026 it operates into autumn before closing for winter as conditions dictate, so live road status needs to be checked before travelling.

Nearby, the Nockalm Road offers a gentler interpretation of Austrian mountain driving, flowing through rounded peaks, larch woodland and open Alpine scenery.

Furka and Grimsel, Switzerland

The Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass feel more austere.

Granite, reservoirs, glaciers and high mountain roads create a landscape that already seems close to winter even when autumn has only just arrived.

Furka in particular has the sort of road geometry that drivers remember: long views across the valley, tight switchbacks and sections cut directly into the mountainside.

This is an early-autumn choice rather than something to casually add to a late-October itinerary.

As of 24 September 2026, the Furka Pass is open, but its usual winter closure runs roughly from November into June. Conditions at these altitudes can change well before the calendar says winter has begun.

Vršič Pass and the Soča Valley, Slovenia

Slovenia provides one of Europe’s most complete combinations of mountain road and landscape.

The Vršič Pass climbs through the Julian Alps in a sequence of tight turns before dropping towards the Soča Valley.

Then the character changes.

The mountains remain, but the vivid colour of the Soča river begins to dominate the journey.

It is the sort of road trip that rewards leaving enough time to get out of the car, follow a trail beside the water and have absolutely no concern about your average speed for the day.

The Black Forest, Germany

By later October, we would start looking away from the highest mountains and towards places such as Germany’s Black Forest.

The famous B500 Black Forest High Road is only part of the story.

Forested roads, viewpoints, villages and quieter connecting routes make this an excellent autumn driving region, particularly once the trees begin to change colour.

Germany can also be worked into a longer journey south. Our Romantic Road Germany route planner follows the route from Würzburg through medieval towns and countryside towards the Alps at Füssen.

Hardanger, Norway

Autumn arrives differently in Norway.

The Hardanger region combines fjords, waterfalls, mountains and orchards in a landscape that feels enormous around relatively narrow roads.

The driving itself is only half of the reason to go.

Stop beside the fjord. Walk towards a waterfall. Take the ferry rather than looking for the quickest alternative.

This is exactly the sort of place where the journey becomes richer once you stop trying to optimise every minute of it.

Transfăgărășan, Romania

Few European roads have the visual drama of Romania’s Transfăgărășan.

It climbs deep into the Carpathians through repeated hairpins and huge mountain scenery towards Bâlea Lake.

But autumn here requires timing.

The high road is seasonal and can be affected by winter weather comparatively early. Treat it as a September or early-autumn ambition, check the current status before leaving and have an alternative route ready.

Sometimes good road-trip planning means knowing which road not to drive that day.

Why autumn road trips feel different

Part of autumn’s appeal is obvious.

Colour.

But there is more to it than that.

The sun stays lower in the sky, stretching shadows across the landscape and giving early mornings and late afternoons a softer quality. The road can seem to reveal itself differently.

There are often fewer people trying to occupy the same viewpoint.

Hotels and villages can feel calmer.

A roadside café becomes somewhere to warm up rather than somewhere to escape the heat.

And because daylight matters more, the rhythm of the trip naturally changes.

Set out around sunrise. Drive while the morning is quiet. Stop when the light is good. Find lunch somewhere worth remembering. Then leave enough time to enjoy the final road before darkness arrives.

There is less temptation to treat the whole day as something to complete.

That might be autumn’s greatest advantage.

Autumn driving requires a different mindset

Beautiful conditions do not always mean easy conditions.

A dry road in September can become a damp one in October. Tree-lined roads can stay wet long after the rain has passed. Leaves collect in braking zones and along the edges of rural roads. Mud can be dragged from fields. Fog forms in valleys. Standing water can hide potholes.

And low autumn sunshine, beautiful from the side of the road, can be extremely difficult when it is directly ahead of you.

Wet leaves deserve particular care. Once compressed onto a damp road surface they can drastically reduce available grip, while also disguising potholes, road markings and other hazards. The RAC advises increasing your following distance when roads are slippery with leaves and notes that compressed wet leaves can offer grip levels similar to ice.

Wet roads themselves require more space. Stopping distances can be at least twice those of a dry road, so reduce speed, increase the gap to the vehicle ahead and keep steering, braking and acceleration smooth.

Low sun is another autumn characteristic worth planning around. Keep the windscreen clean inside and out, make use of the sun visor and slow down if glare begins to compromise what you can see.

Before an autumn road trip, it is also worth checking:

• Tyre condition and pressures
• Windscreen washer fluid and wiper blades
• Lights
• Weather along the entire route, not just at your starting point
• Current road closures and restrictions
• High-pass status when travelling in the mountains
• Sunset time
• Fuel or charging opportunities on more remote routes
• A sensible alternative if conditions change

Most importantly, leave room in the plan.

The road does not need to be driven simply because it appears on the itinerary.

Build an autumn road trip around your car

The perfect autumn drive is different for everyone.

A lightweight sports car on a dry September morning in Wales asks for a different route to a classic heading through the Surrey Hills in late October. A grand tourer crossing France towards the Alps needs something different again.

That is why New Roads starts with you and the car you are actually driving.

Tell us where you are starting, how much time you have, what you drive and the type of journey you are looking for. New Roads can then help create a hyper-personalised road trip built around the roads, places and experiences that suit you.

Because autumn is too good to spend following the same route as everyone else.

Sometimes you simply need to find a new road.

Build your autumn road trip with New Roads.