EPIC DRIVES
FRESH MANIFESTO
ROX MAGAZINE
EPIC DRIVES There’s nothing quite like a spontaneous weekend dash to the countryside – but with winter upon us, how about planning a dash for the Continent, come spring? There are spectacular driver’s roads aplenty, if you know where to look – and they’re not all the Stelvio Pass. Words by Alex Doak.
ATLANTIC ROAD + GEIRANGER-TROLLSTIGEN, NORWAY It’s a long old haul to get there – about 30 hours not including rest stops – and the tarmac in question is a mere 12-minute blast, but boy oh boy is Norway’s Atlantic Road worth it. So much so, we’d even recommend flying to Ålesund or Kristiansand via Oslo and making do with a rental car – any lack of serious grunt is more than made up for by the spectacular scenery. What’s more, another five hours south (what’s five hours when you’ve come this far?) is the GeirangerTrollstigen mountain pass – a switchback-ridden road that could be described as the Norwegian Transfăgărășan Highway. The two stretches thrillingly combine mountains, fjords, ocean and serpentine roads. Throw in some incongruously contemporary architecture along the way (see sidebar) and you have one of Europe’s most otherworldly driving experiences. The Atlantic Road itself – or “Atlanterhavsveien” – winds its way through islands and scarries over the open ocean, forming a dramatic link between land, sea and sky by connecting the island community of Averøy with mainland Eide. Few places bring you closer to the ocean and let you feel part of it, curving sinuously from islet to islet over its seven bridges, across moorland to bare crags. When the weather’s feeling inclement, waves crash and spray consumes a particularly precarious-looking bridge, curving away from the tiny island of Grisen. The sweep up and over is pure, stomach-churning excitement.
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