Famous road · 7 mi off the route
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Road trip route · United Kingdom
London to Inverness drive time, distance, costs & the best stops
- Drive time
- 10 hr 44 min
- Distance
- 560 mi
- Fuel (est.)
- £93
- Tolls (est.)
- None
The London to Inverness drive
The drive from London to Inverness covers 560 miles (902 km) and takes about 10 hr 44 min without stops. That's a long haul for one day, most drivers split it over two days, stopping overnight near Penrith, which turns a slog into a proper road trip.
Two roads do the work. Roughly 42% is on the M6 and another 23% on the A9. On the way you go past Luton, Milton Keynes and Coventry, and you'll be near Penrith roughly 5 h 32 min in.
Expect gentle hills rather than climbs. The high point is around 386 m. The Trough of Bowland is 7 mi off the route if you have time for a detour.
Expect fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) to cost around £93 one-way with no significant motorway tolls on the way. Prices shift monthly, so treat these as ballpark figures.
At 560 miles this is longer than 96% of the 144 routes covered here, so it is worth treating as a trip in itself rather than a transfer. Split across 2 days it works out at about 5.4 hours behind the wheel each day, which leaves most of the daylight for the places in between.
The road, mile by mile
Towns within a few miles of the fastest route, with the time it takes to reach them without stopping.
- StartLondon
- 33 miLuton38 min in
- 52 miMilton Keynes1 h in
- 96 miCoventry1 h 51 min ingood place to stop
- 115 miBirmingham2 h 12 min in
- 131 miCannock2 h 31 min in
- 155 miStoke-on-Trent2 h 58 min in
- 203 miWigan3 h 54 min ingood place to stop
- 222 miPreston4 h 16 min in
- 242 miMorecambe4 h 39 min in
- 288 miPenrith5 h 32 min in
- 306 miCarlisle5 h 53 min ingood place to stop
- 388 miMeikle Earnock7 h 27 min ingood place to stop
- 560 miInverness
How high it goes
Roads you'll be on
- M6232 mi · 42%
- A9130 mi · 23%
- M176 mi · 14%
- A74(M)49 mi · 9%
Famous roads on or near the drive
From the 500-plus passes and driving roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app. None are on the fastest route, but these are close enough for a detour.
Mountain pass · 11 mi off the route
Kirkstone Pass
- Summit
- 454 m summit
Famous road · 12 mi off the route
Hartside Pass (A686)
- Summit
- 580 m summit
Famous road · 13 mi off the route
A54 Congleton to Buxton
Best stops between London and Inverness
Within ~30 km of the driving route, worth the detour.
Museums
Highland Folk Museum
Open-air museum in Newtonmore recreating Highland life from the 1700s to the 1960s, with an authentic township used in the Outlander TV series.
Museums
Coventry Transport Museum
Houses the world's largest publicly owned collection of British road transport, including land speed record holders.
Ancient Ruins
Ruthven Barracks
Stark Hanoverian infantry barracks on a green mound near Kingussie, a free and evocative Jacobite-era ruin.
Landmarks
The Kelpies
Two 30-metre steel horse-head sculptures towering over the canal at Falkirk, a striking modern landmark off the M9.
Racetracks
Mallory Park
Compact lakeside circuit at Kirkby Mallory known as the 'friendly circuit', racing since 1956. Its Gerard's Bend is one of the longest, fastest corners in British motorsport.
Racetracks
Aintree Motor Racing Circuit
Historic circuit inside Aintree Racecourse that hosted five British Grands Prix in the 1950s-60s, where Stirling Moss took his first home GP win. Club sprints still run on the old track.
Museums
Riverside Museum
Glasgow's Zaha Hadid-designed transport museum on the Clyde, packed with classic cars, a recreated cobbled street of vintage vehicles, and the tall ship Glenlee moored outside.
Famous Roads
Glen Lyon
Scotland's longest enclosed glen: 34 miles of single-track road along the River Lyon past Fortingall's 3,000-year-old yew, Bridge of Balgie tearoom and the Ben Lawers dam. Sir Walter Scott called it the longest, loneliest, loveliest glen.
Mountain Passes
Hartside Pass
The A686's grand sweep over the North Pennines between Penrith and Alston, climbing to 580m through wide hairpins with views across the Eden Valley to the Lake District fells. A celebrated drivers' and bikers' road.
What you need for this drive
Rules for each country on the route, in the order you meet them.
United Kingdom
- Motorway
- 112 km/h · 48 in town
- Tolls
- Individual tolled crossings (Dart Charge, M6 Toll)
- Drives on
- the left
Low-emission zones: London ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone).
Checked against national road authorities and the ECB reference rates. Rules change — confirm before you travel.
Famous drives in United Kingdom
Legendary routes you could bolt onto this trip, with real distances and stop counts.
Snake Pass + Peak District
Cobblestone villages, Bronte-novel moors, and the moodiest 14 miles of road in England
104 km · 2h driving · 7 stops · 3 days
Atlantic Highway A39: North Cornwall
Cornish surf beaches, smuggler's coves, and the Westcountry pasty trail
139 km · 2.5h driving · 7 stops · 4 days
Causeway Coastal Route
Belfast to Derry along Northern Ireland's cliff-edge coast, via Game of Thrones country
200 km · 3.3h driving · 7 stops · 3 days
NC500: North Coast 500
Scotland's answer to Route 66: 516 miles of mountains, single-track roads, and empty beaches
755 km · 11.4h driving · 9 stops · 7 days
London to Inverness FAQs
How long is the drive from London to Inverness?
Driving from London to Inverness takes about 10 hr 44 min nonstop, covering 560 miles (902 km). Add time for breaks: most drivers stop every 2 hours.
How much does it cost to drive from London to Inverness?
Fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) costs roughly £93 one-way. There are no significant motorway tolls on this route. Estimates are indicative: prices change monthly.
Can I drive from London to Inverness in one day?
It's possible but long: 10 hr 44 min of driving. Most people split it over two days, with an overnight stop near Penrith, which turns the drive into a proper road trip.
Which roads do you take from London to Inverness?
The fastest route uses the M6 (about 232 mi), the A9 (about 130 mi), the M1 (about 76 mi), the A74(M) (about 49 mi). It passes Luton, Milton Keynes, Coventry, Birmingham.
Where should I stop on the way from London to Inverness?
If you stop every couple of hours, Coventry comes up about 2 h in, and Wigan comes up about 4 h in, and Carlisle comes up about 6 h in, and Meikle Earnock comes up about 8 h in. All are just off the main road.
What other drives can I plan on Plan Your Road Trips?
We publish drive times, distances and fuel estimates for 144 routes across Europe and beyond, including 57 other drives in the same country. Browse them all on the routes index.
What are the best stops between London and Inverness?
Top-rated stops in the drive corridor include Highland Folk Museum, Coventry Transport Museum, Ruthven Barracks: see the full list of 9 stops on this page.
More drives from London & Inverness
Edinburgh → InvernessGlasgow → InvernessLondon → AberdeenLondon → AmsterdamLondon → BarcelonaLondon → BathLondon → BirminghamLondon → BrightonLondon → BristolLondon → Bruges
Planning a bigger trip? Try the free United Kingdom road trip planner, browse every destination we cover, take it with you on the road, or read the driving in United Kingdom guide.