Recreate James Bond’s drive on Britain’s greatest road trip… without the £5m price tag

Driving experts say Scotland’s Crianlarich to Glencoe route doesn’t need a vintage Bond car

James Bond’s silver Aston Martin, like the one which stole the show on a Scottish road named the greatest in Britain, has recently been auctioned. But experts say petrolheads could enjoy the A82 just as much in a Ford Fiesta!

Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 was the star of Skyfall in 2012 when the legendary British spy drove it from Crianlarich to Glencoe as he and M escaped to his fictional childhood home Skyfall House.

The route was recently named the UK’s best road trip on a list of the country’s 50 greatest drives, voted for by Boundless members, the club for public sector workers.

Recently an Aston Martin DB5 used for James Bond promotional events went up for auction in Monterey, California by RM Sotheby’s and fetched a whopping $6.4m (£5.2m) at the world’s biggest classic car auction.

However, Boundless motoring editor, Dan Read, who helped Boundless draw up a 50-strong shortlist for its Greatest Drive vote, says you don’t need to spend millions to enjoy the road.

“Obviously you don’t need a multi-million-pound machine to enjoy Britain’s best road,” he said.

“That’s why we decided to take Britain’s favourite car instead – the humble but dependable Ford Fiesta.

“We borrowed the new Active version – with more robust suspension than regular models, plus a few extra centimetres of ground clearance, you can think of it as a hatchback in hiking boots.”

“It was great for Glen Coe. Being slightly softer and more forgiving than usual, you can scamper across rough roads without shaking the car to pieces. Oh, and it costs from £18,350.”

Driving the route from the south, it’s not difficult to find the Skyfall tourists, close to the beautiful Glen Etive.

Dan said: “Once upon a time the only people who ventured down there were kayakers in search of white water, or walkers with a good map. These days it’s much busier, having starred in the James Bond film Skyfall.

“It was here, in a passing place, where 007 and M paused to survey the view down the misty glen beside Bond’s silver Aston Martin DB5.

“It’s a scene thousands of people want to recreate, and we found a scrum of cars on the famous spot, which somewhat spoils the natural splendour of it all.

“Drivers who want to see it – and it really is worth seeing – should park at the head of the Glen and walk down instead. And there’s probably no need to spend £5m on an Aston Martin to do it…”

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Editors notes

Boundless is a membership club for civil service and public sector workers who are looking for inspiration on getting the most out of their free time. With a heritage and expertise dating back more than 90 years, Boundless offers its 230,000 members deals on hundreds of unique experiences, events, volunteer activities and things to do. It’s also mutual, so all profits go straight back into the club to benefit members.