Abarth reveals UK and Ireland’s most Instagrammed roads

There’s more to a good road than just the tarmac itself, and if you’re on a road trip, you’ll want to find somewhere picturesque to take a photo and likely put it on Instagram too. 

Now sports car brand Abarth has worked out the most popular roads in the UK and Ireland on the photo sharing platform, while also taking into account the roads’ ability to entertain drivers and the surrounding scenery. 

It was Ireland that dominated the top spots, with the Wild Atlantic Way being by far the most Instagrammed driving route, with more than 1.5 million hashtags. This is one of the longest defined coastal routes in the world, going from the top of the island and winding its way down Ireland’s west coast, though plenty of time will need to be put aside to cover the 1,600 miles.

In second place was the Ring of Kerry, a 111-mile route that is one of Ireland’s most popular drives and explores the island’s rugged coastline, and can be comfortably done in a long day, with 220,293 hashtags being shared. 

Abarth’s third best road is the well-known North Coast 500N (NC500) in Scotland, a 516-mile route that explores the stunning north coast of the country, starting and ending in Inverness, with 141,529 hashtags on Instagram. 

Cheddar Gorge took fourth place, with the B315 (also known as Cliff Road) in Somerset frequently being named as one of the best roads in the UK, and 84,162 hashtags of it being shared. Rounding off the top five is the Elan Valley in Wales, a circular route that passes through the Craig Goch and Pen-y-Garreg reservoirs that is said to be a ‘challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable drive’, and has been shared 52,304 times on Instagram. 

Greg Taylor, Fiat and Abarth UK managing director, said: “The British Isles has some of the most spectacular and beautiful scenery to be experienced and especially so right from the driving seat. From sweeping mountain passes, through peaks and valleys to dramatic coastlines, the UK and Ireland has it all on offer.”

“Abarth cars thrive on these sorts of roads so we wanted to put a list together of the routes that we know would thrill drivers and car enthusiasts, not only covering the most exciting roads, but also the most visually show stopping drives. Clearly, they’re also great places to capture spectacular pictures of an Abarth against a backdrop that would rival anywhere in the world.”

Abarth is Fiat’s performance arm, with the firm creating the well-loved 500 hatchback and creating the sporty 595 and 695 hot hatches from it, which are great fun to drive, but also affordable to buy.