Blue Ridge Cruiser

Twelve nights from Washington to Nashville down the finest ridge road in the eastern United States. Flights, car and hotels are arranged together from the UK with a road book for the driving.

Three nights in Washington open it, and then the car is collected for the whole point of the trip. Skyline Drive runs the spine of Shenandoah National Park for 105 miles, and at its southern end it becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway, which carries on for another 469. Two nights are spent on the Parkway itself, taking in the Linn Cove Viaduct where the road curls around Grandfather Mountain on stilts rather than cutting into it, and Mabry Mill, which is probably the most photographed building in Virginia.

Asheville follows, then two nights in the Great Smoky Mountains, the most visited national park in the country and still big enough to lose people in. Three nights in Nashville close the trip, with the Country Music Hall of Fame, the honky tonks on Broadway and the studios where most of it was recorded.

Around 920 miles over twelve nights, and almost all of it on roads built for the view rather than the journey. One thing to settle when you enquire: the two Parkway nights are given as the Parkway rather than a town, so ask which lodge you are in. The itinerary is bespoke, with nights addable and stops removable, and departures arranged around your dates. It suits anyone who wants one great road rather than a tour of cities, with Nashville as the reward at the end.