BA - The Club - Five epic drives: Steve Jones

Mount Charleston, Nevada

My wife is from Las Vegas, which means in the last ten years I’ve been taught there’s more to Vegas than just the Strip. In winter we take the 45-minute drive from the centre of town up to the log cabins at the top of Mount Charleston. In that short time, you will watch the desert fade away as you head into the snow-covered, pine tree-dotted mountains. There’s great skiing up there but, if I’m honest, I go for the buffalo cauliflower at the Mount Charleston Lodge. It’s unreal.
Car of choice: Range Rover Sport Supercharged
Soundtrack: White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes

Take off to Las Vegas

Sunset Strip, Los Angeles

For maximum effect – and I can’t stress this enough – do this drive at night. It’s a gaudy, tacky, sleazily lit masterpiece. And if it was good enough for the likes of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix to cruise along, then it’s good enough for you and me. LA’s most famous Strip is only 1.5 miles long but somehow manages to squeeze a million miles of atmosphere into it. When you get to the end of it, turn around... and repeat.
Car of choice: 1967 Shelby GT 500
Soundtrack: LA Woman by The Doors... of course

Take off to Los Angeles

A470 from Cardiff to Llandudno, Wales

Don’t be fooled by the unimaginative title. During this 180-mile journey you will travel through two of our National Parks, the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia (Brits pay a fortune to travel to New Zealand, but save yourself a bob or two and head to Snowdonia as there’s barely a difference), and both are exquisite driving experiences. Avoid peak times and drive something with a little grunt to get around the slow pokes.
Car of choice: Lamborghini Aventador (black)
Soundtrack: Justice by Genesis

Take off to the UK

Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass and Gotthard Pass, Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps are an absolute must for anyone who loves to be behind the wheel. Which brings me to these three passes, all connected and all absolutely epic to drive. The views they offer beggar belief – glaciers nestled between jagged mountaintops, lush forests, lakes... and all with a challenging road snaking its way through. When I first drove here, it was so spectacular that when I got to the other side I turned back, went through the underpass and did it again.
Car of choice: Range Rover SVR
Soundtrack: The Curse of Ka’Zar by Lemon Jelly

Take off to Zurich

Reykjavik to Grundarfjörður, Iceland

This two-and-a-half-hour-long dreamscape is one of my all-time favourites. Best done in the winter with a 4x4 with studs, the scenery is consistently jaw dropping. You will see a frighteningly big moon, huge white mountains (that glow pink at sunrise and sunset), icy waterfalls, vast snowy tundra, the northern lights (if you’re lucky) and, to cap it all off, killer whales in the bay at Grundarfjörður. Just don’t let your other half drink too much Brennivín schnapps the night before you hop on a boat tour on the bumpy Atlantic sea!
Car of choice: Volvo XC90
Soundtrack: Outro by M83

Take off to Reykjavik