Take a virtual reality drive across Britain’s most beautiful roads

Britain isn’t all gloom, rain, and Slough. If you escape the city, you inevitably come across some picturesque scenery that wouldn’t look amiss in a Peter Jackson movie.

Co-op Insurance, one of the UK’s biggest insurers, asked veteran motoring journalist Colin Goodwin to pick out Britain’s best roads, and then turned them into a series of calming virtual reality road trips.

You can take a drive through the gorgeous Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, or visit the undulating and breathtaking Cheddar Gorge, in Somerset, without actually having to step outside your house. Or owning a car. Or even knowing how to drive.

Soft piano music accompanies the footage, which is available in full 360-degrees 4K video. So, should you see something particularly lovely, you can “turn” your head to look at it some more.  And if you own a Google Cardboard headset, you can watch them in full VR.

“We had a filming team out on the road for an entire week to capture a perfect run of each road – driving the roads repeatedly to get the best footage,” explained a Co-op Insurance spokesperson.

The Virtual Road Trips falls into a genre of content that’s becoming increasingly popular. These films lack a narrative, and exist to lull you into a sense of relaxation. On Netflix, for example, you can watch an entire seven-hour train journey from Oslo to Bergen. Similar content is available on YouTube, as documented by The Guardian.

If you’re curious, you can check out the Co-op’s Virtual Road Trips here.