RBRR 2023 - The Route

The event has three stages, these being London to John O’Groats, John O’Groats to Lands End and Lands End to London. The start is at 18.00 and heads north on the A1 up to the first stop at a location near to Doncaster. It's then onto the next stop on the border at Carter Bar and into the Scottish Borders. We visit a location in the vicinity of Edinburgh at 3.00am on Saturday morning. By now the initial euphoria felt by the crews at the start will have worn off and weariness will start to creep up, but still the mileage must be done. Next up is a drive along the A9 and A99 viewing the sun rising (it will wake you up) over the North Sea to John O’Groats for a well earned breakfast and a wash and brush up at this very Northern tip of the UK mainland.

Now come possibly the best driving roads of the event as crews cross the top of Scotland via Thurso, and then down to Altnaharra, this is a marvellous single track road that offers challenges to the drivers and fantastic stunning views. The next stop is near Inverness, by now it will be early afternoon on Saturday. From there the route skirts Loch Ness, crosses Telford’s Caledonian Canal and heads onto Fort William. The next part is a visual highlight as crews pass through the inspiring mountain ranges of Glen Coe. The roads from Inverness are wide fast ‘A’ roads that really offer crews the chance to stretch their cars, in fact it could be said that these roads have been designed for use by Triumph motor cars. Next up is a stop in the vicinity of Glasgow, many cars are quickly fettled as the second half of the event starts, cars needing oil top ups and the like. It is weird to think that crews have to get to Lands End for breakfast and onto Knebworth for the finish in 24 hours time, in fact, some crews look totally alarmed by this realisation!

The crews now drive back through the fading light into England taking the A74(M), A6 and the M6 as they head to the border, the next stop is at Tebay for a stop at the best motorway service area in the UK. A bit more motorway action is suffered as we head to Oswestry through the England/Welsh border for some single carriageway fun! Another great night's driving is now enjoyed right in the middle of Wales. It is bound to be raining, but by now crews will feel at one with their car and be able to exploit the roads that are set out before them. The next stop is just west of Monmouth before we head down to Chepstow passing Tintern Abbey and then onto the old Severn Bridge, this always looks more imposing than the newer one downstream. Then it is onto the M5 and off to the West Country. Still the Controls Stops keep coming, with two or three more before Lands End. If the crews thought the Saturday morning sections were tough, the Sunday morning can be very fatiguing and it can be a struggle to get to Land’s End, the A30 section through Bodmin Moor being particularly tiring. The third part, possibly the easiest and definitely the busiest section, starts after a superb breakfast at Lands End as one watches the Atlantic beat England’s coastal point. Nice roads are enjoyed as crews set off to Bude for a stop at the town's Museum and maybe more tea and then onto the final stretch of the event, competing with Sunday afternoon traffic to Knebworth for the finish, through Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. At Knebworth, there is a chance to purchase some food and maybe have a drink before heading off home following the weekend’s gruelling motoring.