Ryde has been revealed as one of the best UK towns to visit by car, thanks in part to its easy-to-navigate town centre and low-cost hourly parking.
Auto-retailer Robins and Day, who compiled the study, used a combination of desk research and national survey data in order to rank the UK’s top towns and cities for drivers to visit in the coming months. With a reported £46.8 billion being spent on domestic tourism in 2020 and restrictions on the domestic hospitality industry relaxed in many parts of the UK since July 2020, staycations and day trips are once again on the up.
Robins & Day created a points system that took into consideration population size, the number of UK motorists who planned to visit in the next 6-months, the number of UK motorists who said it was hard to navigate around/through by car, the number of council-run, central car parks and their average cost per hour, the number of public electric charging points and devices, the number of petrol stations and the number of speed cameras.
This list of criteria was based on research by the auto-retailer on the things that are most likely to put Brits off visiting somewhere in a car.
Skegness topped the table, closely followed by Southampton and then Ryde here on the Isle of Wight.
| Rank | Town/City |
| 1 | Skegness |
| 2 | Southampton |
| 3 | Ryde (Isle of Wight) |
| 4 | Sheffield |
| 5 | Lancaster |
| 6 | Stratford upon Avon |
| 7 | Weymouth |
| 8 | Truro |
| 9 | Belfast |
| 10 | Portree (Isle of Skye) |
Ciaran Taylor, Digital Marketing Manager at Robins and Day, commented on the findings:
“Whether it’s for a day trip or a longer getaway, it’s great to see so many of us investing in the UK tourism and hospitality industry, especially following a tough start to the year. Whilst it’s great that we help to support these industries, it’s also important that we do so safely and responsibly, and so prior planning is essential.
“This was one of the key reasons behind creating our list of top UK towns and cities; to ensure that as drivers, we are considering all the options available to us and also thinking about busyness, ease-to-navigate, parking, petrol and electric charging points so it’s a stress-free a day out for everyone.
Article continues below this advertisement “Everyone loves a day at the beach, so it’s great to see Skegness topping the list, but whether you prefer a weekend city break or would rather get out walking for the day in the countryside, our list highlights some of the great places up and down the UK to visit by car in 2020 and beyond.”
Didn’t take account of price to get here.
Note it says by car you wouldn’t want to get out
Likely promoted by Mr Whittles ‘lot’, ching ching
Ryde is a dump like most towns on the island. They look so run down and grotty im surprised anyone comes here by car, bus, boat or postal pigeon. I think its about time the corrupt Island council actually started to spend some of our ridiculous council tax money on giving the Island a lick of paint and making the island what it should be. Stop pocketing the money in back handers and start spending it on upgrading the Island.
In essence very agree, but the whole island is past the ‘lick of paint’ stage.
So, once you have navigated around the easy to navigate town, found a cheap parking space, then what do you do… (?) The place is a complete crap hole full of undesirable people. It”s a bit like a motorway service station – a place where you stop off for a quick shit before continuing on to a decent destination…
Your not stopping can only be a benefit to the town.
I think Ryde’s problem is people who want to stop there, or did!
Unless you drive an Audi R8
‘ low cost of hourly parking’, compared with where ?
Drive through and keep going,
All I can say is…who did they actually ask on this survey?
This chart is a farce. It is expensive to park and certainly not easy to navigate in Ryde. Meanwhile, in Southampton they use misleading signage so the unwary may cop a fine, whereas in Skegness, there is a huge car-park on the front, but when I went there last year there was only one machine working, resulting in twenty strong queue.
Pay on the phone app?
What an absolute joke – literally couldn’t make it up!
Survey? Total garbage more like.
Looking at the way people on here feel about the island i guess the only reason you stay is you can’t afford the ferry off.
Just wait until all the proposed housing is built. Ryde will be gridlocked most of the time.
Zoe and just WAIT to you see the ‘type’ which will infest many of the social homes. They will make our own people look pleasant. The end of the Island ‘being different’ in the nicest sense. It will resemble the mainland in overcrowding and crime, and ‘type’ of tenant, but will not have the jobs, the infrastructure or Police to make it tolerable.
The worst of all worlds.