A ‘Drives of Ireland’ survey of Irish drivers has shown the Wicklow Mountains in Dublin/Wicklow is the favourite drive in the country.
The survey, which was carried out by Continental Tyres, showed the Wicklow Mountains as the number one choice of 26 per cent of drivers. The Killarney National Park in Co Kerry and the Burren in Co Clare were the second and third most favourite destinations for an outing for 22 and 20 per cent of drivers respectively.
The survey also found most drivers (24 per cent ) would prefer to go for a visit to the seaside as part of a drive outing. The next most popular activities were going for a mountain drive (21 per cent ) and stopping off for a nice lunch (20 per cent ).
And while 44 per cent would let the weather dictate whether they go for a drive or not, a majority of drivers (56 per cent ) said that Ireland’s changeable climate does not deter them from getting out on to the road.
The ‘Drives of Ireland’ survey was carried out to highlight the launch of The Continental Road Trip guide (ContinentalRoadTrip.com ) which is made up of 12 scenic drive routes across areas of outstanding natural beauty in the UK and Ireland and encourages drivers to put their skills to the test.
Featured among the routes are The Wicklow Mountains, Ireland’s largest continuous upland area and once host to the Circuit of Ireland car rally. Also featured is the eerie Dark Hedges drive in Co Antrim, along with a range of other wonderful drives across England, Wales and Scotland.
Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, says: “With our Continental Road Trip campaign and the guide to the top 12 best drives across Ireland and Britain, we want motorists to recognise the enjoyment of driving.
“It’s great that even though there are factors like car costs, road rage and traffic queues which will affect how much we like to drive, our recent survey has found the majority of Irish motorists enjoy being behind the wheel. At Continental Tyres we want to ensure that people keep the fun in driving, but most importantly stay safe on the road.”
Here is the full list of road trips featured in the Continental Tyres guide:
1. A82 Glencoe – Lanarkshire and Dunbarton, Scotland
2. The Wild Atlantic Way – Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork, Ireland
3. Black Mountain Pass – Powys and Monmouthshire, Wales
4. Buttertubs Pass – Yorkshire, England
5. The Evo Triangle – Denbighshire, Conwy and Gwynedd, Wales
6. A686 from Penrith to Haydon Bridge – Cumbria and Northumberland, England
7. The Snake Pass – Cheshire and Yorkshire, England
8. The Dark Hedges – County Antrim, Northern Ireland
9. Cheddar Gorge – Somerset, England
10. The Wicklow Mountains – Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford and Dublin, Ireland
11. Abergwesyn Pass – Powys, Wales
12. Bealach Na Ba – Wester Ross, Scotland
To celebrate the Continental Road Trip campaign, Continental Tyres will give away one free night at a hotel near one of the selected drive routes with every pair of tyres purchased from Advance Pitstop outlets and selected quality tyre retailers across Ireland* (terms and conditions apply ).
