Road trips give you the freedom to travel for whatever reason you want, visit many places along the way, and take in the scenery as you are going. It’s awesome to combine a motorbike trip with other hobbies and interests.
Here is a simple UK road trip for football fans. It takes you through some of the UK’s major cities, with each offering a solid dose of football madness. You can adjust the trip as you see fit, adding stops and destinations. If you support a specific team, then you will want to add their hometown to the route, so that you can visit their stadium and catch a home game.
Main Destinations
The main destinations for this motorbike road trip are London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. Here’s why:
London – London has more football clubs than any other city in the UK. There’s Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and more. London is also home to Wembley Stadium, the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest in Europe. You can take tours of the stadium for £19 per person, exploring the stands, tunnels, press conference rooms, and ending with the ‘Exhibition of Champions’, showcasing 56 years of European football.
Liverpool – Liverpool FC overcame expectations to beat Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup last year, making them the reigning champions of Europe in just about every way.
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Liverpool FC are top of domestic and European football at the moment, making the city one of the best destinations for your motorbike road trip.
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Fans can take a full tour of Anfield Stadium, including the Liverpool FC and Steven Gerrard Collection museum at the end. If you’re really into it, then you can even stay at the Bill Shankly Hotel, a dedication to the team’s former manager. Liverpool city is also home to Everton, who have just as much history though not as many honours.
Manchester – Manchester is home to two very successful football teams: City and United. As such, this is a city that is full of football pride. You could visit the Old Trafford Stadium (or Etihad if you prefer Man City), check out the National Football Museum, and even stay in the Hotel Football. If you can get to Manchester for derby day, then you’re in for a real buzz! You don’t have to get tickets to enjoy the game; the bars and pubs will be rammed.
Glasgow – You could skip out Glasgow to keep your road trip short, but keeping it in lets you see much more of the UK’s finest scenery. The drive up from Manchester to Glasgow is, for the most part, spectacular. Detour through the Lake District, where you can find plenty of biker friendly accommodation to stop off, and then head up into the wilds of Scotland. Glasgow is home to one of the fiercest football rivalries in the UK: Rangers Vs Celtic. You can also visit the Scottish Football Museum.
The Route - See here
The beauty of any road trip is that you can plan your own route, so don’t be afraid to tamper and go where you went to go. You can also take on this trip in either direction, starting in London or Glasgow. Starting in London and ending in Glasgow will leave the best scenery till last, but true football fans may want to finish off with the Wembley Stadium tour.
From London, you can take the M40 up towards Birmingham, then the M56 North, turning off on the M62 to Liverpool. The same motorway, the M62, will take you from Liverpool to Manchester. You can then take the M61 and M6 North to Lancaster.
Around Lancaster, you have the opportunity to change up the route and see the nicest National Parks the country has to offer. I recommend the Lake District, turning off near Kendal to take the stunning A591 straight through the Cumbrian Mountains, rejoining the route at Carlisle. From there, it’s the A74 and M74 to Glasgow, again through beautiful scenery.