The Long And Winding Road

The joy of a grand touring road trip is a great escape from the world.

Mark Raynes Roberts

As a boy, I always loved the movie “The Italian Job” starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward as the indomitable Mr. Bridger, but it was the souped-up Mini Coopers that stole the show of the movie as they escaped the Italian Polizia with heavy gold bullion ensconced in their tiny boots! (car trunks)

That implausibility was a flawed plot line the film director chose to ignore for the sake of the entertainment, and that scene has gone on to become an iconic movie moment.

When Sarah and I spent a month in San Gimignano, Tuscany, in 2017, I couldn’t help myself and rented a blue Mini Cooper, (which came with obligatory Union Jack wing mirrors) to zip about the Italian mountain villages.

It was absolutely fabulous!

Thankfully Sarah and I travel very easily together, and enjoy a good road trip if planned well.

The thing I love about going on a long road trip is the obvious anticipation of seeing new views and scenery (always a photographer’s delight) less so for one’s passenger especially if the photographer is always hopping out of the car. However, on longer runs this doesn’t happen as often, so Sarah breathes a sigh of relief.

A stunning view of towered historic village of San Gimignano, and rolling Tuscan landscape.

Road Trip 1.

I enjoy driving and grew up learning on a standard gear box, so whenever I’m in Europe I love the challenge of cornering around the narrow streets. In Tuscany, most of the villages are at the top of hills, a historically chosen locations of the wealthy medieval families who controlled the regions. They wanted to safeguard against attacks from neighbouring warring families.

Which is partly why smaller cars are the norm to drive in Europe, cornering more easily and allowing traffic to squeeze past one another. That said, you can identify most cars by the inevitable scratches and dents they receive, much like the scars of war, marking their age and experiences.

When we were in Lake Como last summer, I actually felt quite proud of the fact that I’d run the gauntlet of all the villages without incident, even when faced with those mega-monster coaches which seem to blithely ignore anyone coming in the opposite direction. The funniest aspect of our car rental was that the lady at the car rental in Como, didn’t even bother to inspect the vehicle either on our pick up or return accepting the fact that in Italy a few scratches and dents are an inevitable part of life!

View across the many Vernacchia vineyards which spread for miles around San Gimginano.

There is something I find quite comforting about going on a long drive, seated in your bubble of warmth or coolness dependant on the weather conditions outside. It’s an opportunity to decompress from the world for a few hours with the anticipation that wherever one is headed will also bring some pleasure.

Driving around Tuscany was easy as most of the back roads are not that busy, and discovering small villages and enjoying the local flavour was what we enjoyed most. Although we had both visited Florence and Siena before, we actually preferred to experience the smaller towns and villages of Lucca, Volterra, Arezzo, Chianti, Montelcino and Monteriggioni, and even Cecina located on the Mediterranean, where the local Tuscans go to avoid the tourists!

Embarrassingly it has been known that Sarah and I can break out in harmonious song sometimes while driving, (Sarah being the chorister in the family…I regret to inform you I got cut from a choir) and not only to the tunes of the Eagles and Cat Stevens, but also The Carpenters if you can believe it! I admit to the fact our play list for crooning is heavily weighted in the 70’s era with classics by Neil Young, Carole King, CSN, Joni, Elton and James Taylor our forte.

Driving around the awe inspiring Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, during the winter of 2023.

Road Trip 2.

Last winter, while waiting to move into our new home on the south shore of Nova Scotia, we spent a few winter months living in Little Narrows, Cape Breton, a small village close to Baddeck, famous for being the summer home of the late inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, and his associate, J.A.D. McCurdy MBE, pilot of Canada’s first manned aeroplane “The Silver Dart,” and the 20th Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia.

The Cabot Trail is usually driven during the Fall when the colors are at their most glorious, but here we were in between homes, and unsure of what to expect. Sarah was in the midst of writing her historical novel, while I had come off painting a large collection of paintings which were exhibited that summer. So I enjoyed the flexibility and respite of not having a studio and preferring to get out into nature to photograph this new unexplored region.

View of Cape Smokey from the Keltic Lodge at the Highlands, in Ingonish, Cape Breton.

We weren’t disappointed either. I was told by the locals to take it easy driving around the steep cliff roadsides and was glad of their advice. You have to keep your wits about you with the combination of high wind and icy roads.

Road Trip 3.

The most memorable California road trip I have taken was the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco down to Del Mar, and back again, a 17 hour round trip. What made it extra special was renting a white Ford Mustang convertible, which I had believed for years was the car Clint Eastwood drove in the movie “Play Misty For Me,’ made in 1971 and set in his home town of Carmel. It turns out Clint’s classic vehicle in the movie was actually a blue convertible antique Jaguar. (how did I miss that one!)

It was memorable for many reasons. The scenery is breathtaking and flows along the coastline past Carmel, Big Sur, San Simeon, (the famous mansion built by Randolph Hearst, which Orson Welles fictionally called “Xanadu” in his movie Citizen Kane) Santa Barbara and Santa Monica before arriving in Los Angeles, and ultimately the sleepy coastal town of Del Mar which is an absolute gem.

A spectacular tri-colored view of the crashing waves at Big Sur on the Pacific Coast Highway.

My fondest recollections are the consistent three-color palette of dark pine green, sand-coloured burnt grass and the azure pacific ocean, along with the warm winds off the ocean. The terrifying navigation of the death-defying cliffside roads, kept your attention as many of the bends had limited to no barrier protection. A couple of highlights from that road trip were staying and playing tennis at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch in Carmel, (sadly Clint didn’t make it on court!) and also having the opportunity to play tennis at the famous pink-hued Beverly Hills Hotel, in Los Angeles. Where previously in 2000, I had met actor Jeff Bridges, at a special gala in the Crystal Room of all places, where he received a crystal sculpture I had created.

View of a sandy cove near to Bixby Bridge, seen in the distance at Big Sur, built in 1932.

Road Trip 4.

My last road trip suggestion, comes in the form of driving the north shore of the St Lawrence River, from Quebec City to Forestville, before taking the car ferry across the river to Rimouski on the south shore, and following the shoreline road all the way to Perce, in the Gaspesie.

This is a significant drive of 750km, taking in the rolling hillsides of the Charlevoix region of Quebec on the north shore of the river, with its charming villages of Baie Saint Paul and Malbaie, (Murray Bay) known for its artisans and painters. The town of Tadoussac is located at the opening of the Saguenay River where the first Anglican church in Canada was built. Sarah and I drove the north shore back in 2018, and particularly enjoyed staying in Tadoussac to whale watch and drive up the Saguenay to Lac St. Jean. (Chicoutimi)

A mystical misty morning view of Murray Bay on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

The freshwater river empties into to the saltwater St. Lawrence, and is a feeding ground to the vibrant whale population (of which there are 13 species) including the endangered Belugas. The famed late French marine biologist Jacque Cousteau, was responsible for studying of the Saguenay’s sea floor, as many salt water creatures including the Beluga whales navigate their way up the glacial depths of the river, where the colder saltwater remains layered underneath the warmer spread of freshwater above. An anomaly Cousteau found to be of immense biological interest.

Sarah and I have driven the south shore of the St. Lawrence many times to her family’s cottage in Metis-sur-Mer, but beyond the charming village of Metis is a secret place not many Canadians get to travel. Instead of driving atop the rugged cliffs, the road bends around the bottom of the majestic walls of granite which take the traveller through the villages of Saint Anne-des-Monts, Mont Saint Pierre, Gros Morne, Riviere Claude, Grand Vallee and onto the tip of Gaspe peninsula and the village of Perce.

The winding road around the stunning cliffs of Gros Morne, near to Riviere Claude, Quebec.

Perce Rock is the reward one discovers at the end of this magical drive, unique in shape and photographed by professional photographers and enjoyed by nature lovers from around the world who travel there specifically to bird and whale watch. The town has a fascinating Canadian past, born thanks to the huge fish stocks of cod at the end of the 20th century. The village was literally created and developed by a significant British fish processing company based in the Channel Islands. Sadly commercial fishing left these shores many years ago, so the local economy now relies heavily upon tourism.

One of my secret passions during the summer is to disappear from Metis in early the afternoon to simply drive as far east as time will permit, before turning around to head back to Metis for supper. The reward of the return leg being the glinting diamonds upon the water as the sun begins to lower in the sky before the golden sunset.

Please let me know of your own favourite road trips, both in Canada and abroad.

The perfect spot for a salmon dinner and to view a double rainbow high above Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island, home to one of the largest northern gannet populations in the world.