Here at adflyer, our motoring section is one of the largest parts of the site, with new listings being added all the time.  Of course, it’s all incredibly exciting when you first get your new car, motorcycle, van or scooter, and you’ll be making any excuse you can to take it for a spin.  But, what do you do when the novelty’s worn off?  As always, adflyer is here to help, and we’ve wracked our brains to come up with five of the best scenic drives in the UK.  So, if you’re feeling bored of the same old roads, make your SatNav do the work for a change and try out one of these scenic routes…

1. Snowdonia, Wales, 16.8 miles.  Home of Mount Snowdon, this is the UK’s third most visited National Park, with over six million visitors coming to see its beautiful mountainous landscapes every year.  Whilst the whole of Snowdonia spans a staggering eight hundred and thirty-eight square miles, this beautiful drive is just shy of seventeen miles from start to finish.  Starting in Betws y Coed, you can stop at the beautiful Pont y Pair Falls, before heading along the A4086 towards the summit of Snowdon.  From here, continue along the A4086 which takes you through the Pass of Llanberis on an ascent of over one thousand feet into the stunning mountains of Snowdonia, and onto the final stop of Beddgelert, leaving you in the heart of this beautiful National Park.

2. Keswick to Lake Windermere, 20.2 miles.  This gentle and picturesque drive takes you through the Lake District National Park, a beautiful and wild area which has inspired some of Britain’s greatest artists and poets for centuries.  Following the A591 from Keswick in Cumbria, the route takes you past Lakes Thirlmere and Grasmere before eventually reaching Windermere, the largest natural lake in Britain.  You’ll also see plenty of spots along the way to hop out the car, take in the stunning views and enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic, so it’s a great alternative to the usual family day out.

3. Macclesfield to Buxton, 19.6 miles.  Yet another National Park!  This route will take you through the Peak District and along the A537.  Full of long open bends and tight twists, this drive has stunning views of high open moorland, isolated farmsteads and huge picturesque expanses of heather.  So, if you’re a fan of unspoilt beauty and wild British countryside, this is the perfect drive for you, with highlights including Cat and Fiddle Pass, Goyt Valley and Errwood and Fernilee Reservoirs.

4. Severn Bridge, 2.5 miles.  One of the shortest routes we’ve found, the Severn Bridge crosses the River Severn Estuary, and links Gloucestershire with Monmouthshire in Wales.  It might not boast as many breathtaking views of quintessential British countryside, but the sky scraper-like height of this bridge provides unique and panoramic scenes of open water, marshy plains and mudflats that you’re unlikely to see anywhere else.

5. Oxford Street, London, 1.25 miles.  Now, you might be wondering why this is listed amongst some of the most beautiful and picturesque drives in the country, but Oxford Street is a British institution.  If you prefer the hustle and bustle of the city to the tranquillity of the countryside, this drive along the most famous street in London could be perfect for you.  The route will take you from Marble Arch, all the way through Oxford Circus and onto St Giles’ Circus, with some of the most iconic sights in our capital along this mile-long stretch of road.  Plus, if you get bored of negotiating the traffic and people-watching, you could always hit the famous Oxford Street shops for some retail therapy!

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of the best drives Britain has to offer, and hopefully you’ll take your new car out on one of them very soon.  In the meantime, don’t forget to keep an eye out for a bargain on our motors classifieds blog, and peruse our adflyer blog, property blog and pets blog for more news, advice and trivia.

Could gas guzzlers soon be a thing of the past?

These days, we’re all becoming very aware of the effects of climate change, and everyone seems to be obsessed with reducing their carbon footprint in every aspect of their lives.  This obsession is gradually creeping into the motoring world too, with some of the world’s biggest car manufacturers being profoundly affected by the so-called green revolution.

General Motors, for instance, have recently announced that due to a failed take-over bid of the Hummer brand, they are to wind down production of the gas guzzling road-legal version of the US military vehicle, the Humvee.  The Hummer is quite possibly the least economical and planet-friendly vehicle around: it weighs over three tons, emits three times more carbon dioxide than the average small car, and manages just thirteen miles to the gallon.  Despite its status as a symbol of obscene wealth and extravagance for many celebrities and famous faces, the changing motoring market took its toll on the Hummer.  In 2009, year-on-year sales for the Hummer fell by 67%, the final death knell for a brand which became synonymous with pre-recession greed and over-spending.

However, the growing trend towards more eco-friendly cars is being met with enthusiasm rather than dread by many of the world’s largest car manufacturers.  The Geneva Motor Show opened this week to countless unveilings of new hybrid cars, with the Ferrari 599 getting the most media attention.  The hybrid however, is set to become a more affordable reality as Audi, BMW, Toyota, Nissan and Vauxhall are all set to begin selling their own hybrids in the not too-distant future.

So, this means we may be seeing more eco-friendly cars gracing the adflyer motoring section before long.  In the meantime though, we have a veritable plethora of cars for sale, ranging from environmentally-friendly hybrids to defiantly uneconomical gas guzzlers.  Plus, don’t forget to keep up to date with our adflyer property blog where you can find the latest motoring news and advice, and look out for a great deal on the newest listings added to the site via the motoring classifieds blog.

When it comes to modes of transportation, a scooter isn’t exactly the speediest or perhaps the coolest way to get around.  But, as a scooter costs much less than a car, and is much less hassle to get licensed, scooters are only growing in popularity.  So, how do you get to be a licensed scooter driver?  Here at adflyer, we’ve done all the legwork for you, and found out exactly what you need to do before you can take your new scooter out on the road.

When it comes to getting licensed to ride your shiny new scooter, everything depends, oddly enough, on whether or not you already have a car licence.  If you already have a full car licence which you obtained before the 1^st of February 2001, then you’re already fully entitled to ride a scooter without those pesky L-plates-good times!  However, if you got your car licence after this time, it’s a wee bit more complicated.  You’ll need to attend a full day course of Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), which has five different elements to complete and pass.  Once you’ve completed your CBT, you’ll be given a DL 196 certificate, which means you can ride your scooter wherever you want, L-plate free.

If, however, you’re not the proud owner of a car licence and you’re sixteen or older, there’s a bit more to be done before you can be licensed to ride a scooter.  Firstly, you’ll need to get hold of a provisional moped licence, which allows you to take your scooter on the road with L-plates, but not to take a passenger or to ride on the motorway.  Then, you’ll need to take the CBT course, and pass a theory and practical test to become a fully licensed scooter owner.

So, we hope that this has helped make sense of all the forms, tests and bureaucracy you’ll need to go through before you can take your lovely new scooter out on the road completely L-plate free.  Don’t forget to look at adflyer’s great motoring section, where we’ve got a huge range of scooters to choose from, and keep up to date with our motors blog for all the latest news, advice and information you need on everything petrol-related.