The UK Grand Drive, Isle of Man TT Edition

Twelve nights from London to the Isle of Man by way of the Highlands, self-driven, finishing at the TT races.

The TT is the reason the dates are fixed. It has run on closed public roads on the island since 1907, the Mountain Course is thirty-seven miles long, and the week has no equivalent anywhere in motorsport.

London opens it with the vehicle collection and a briefing, then Edinburgh, with a day for the city. Loch Ness follows through the Cairngorms and Inverness, then Skye by way of Eilean Donan, and Loch Lomond through Glencoe and across Rannoch Moor. Liverpool comes next, then the ferry to the island and the TT Village. A lap of the Mountain Course follows, with the Manx Museum and Castletown, then race viewing at Bray Hill, where the bikes crest at close to two hundred miles an hour, and at Creg-ny-Baa and the Victory Cafe. The ferry to Heysham and the drive back to London close the trip.

The ferries, the TT Village, the course lap, the race viewing at three named points and a private villa on the island are all included; a single occupancy supplement and an optional Anfield visit are not, and the remaining inclusions were not itemised on the operator’s page. The cars are provided, shared between two guests. The price shown is per person sharing. The dates fall in late May and early June, which is the best of the Scottish weather too. Thirteen days with eight touring days and four on the island is a well-judged split, and the Highlands leg would stand on its own without the racing at the end of it.