Britain's Best Drives is a six-part 2009 British television series in which Richard Wilson travels across the UK in reviewing the best driving roads from a motoring guide of the 1950s. In each episode he drives a different car of the period. There was also a seventh episode where Wilson learns how to drive a manual transmission car again.
Seasons & Episode
Richard struggles to get to grips with a retro VW camper van as he drives the coast road from St Ives to Lands End. He learns of St Ives's 1950s abstract art heyday and meets a 95-year-old painter still at work in Porthmeor Studios. He discovers why DH Lawrence was expelled from the county, hears legends of Cornish mermaids and gets to know his van on a blustery clifftop campsite.
Richard drives a sporty, convertible Triumph TR3A around some of the Lake District's most famous roads. He gets the low down on the area from author and resident Hunter Davies, takes on a notorious road, celebrates his birthday at one of Britain's highest pubs, and learns how climate change is affecting this delicate landscape.
Using an Austin Cambridge to explore an area that claims to be the birthplace of British tourism, Richard learns about life before the Severn Bridge, finds out why thousands of tourists flocked to the Wye Valley in search of the 'picturesque' and discovers how ancient customs are still practised in the medieval forest of Dean, with his trip culminating at a renowned viewpoint.