How much of Route 66 remains after a century?

Independent

3 days ago

Q We love the American highways and are already looking ahead to the centenary of Route 66 next year. How much of the actual road remains, and do you recommend an end-to-end journey?
Adrian P
A The 'Mother Road' was born on 11 November 1926, running for 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, the Los Angeles suburb on the Pacific Ocean. For the following three decades it carried millions of Americans migrating west to the Golden State in search of better lives. But in 1956 the Federal-Aid Highway Act created the interstate network of freeways that obliterated many of the old roads. Interstate 40 supersedes Route 66 for much of the journey. As a result, anyone harking back to the glory days of transcontinental road trips across the US may be sadly disappointed.
In the 21st century, the heritage value of Route 66 has been more appreciated. Springfield Illinois, southeast of Chicago, has some traces. They continue sporadically, with elements such as the Route 66 State Park Visitor Center just outside St Louis, Missouri, and the iconic signpost at the end of the trail at Santa Monica pier. But my favourite stretch is in California: connecting Victorville with San Bernardino, over a mountain range.
Both towns have another key element of Americana. San Bernardino was the location chosen in December 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald for a new restaurant on the corner of 14th and E Streets, now a shrine to the fast-food revolution. At the Southern California Logistics Airport outside Victorville, great American planes (as well as the odd Airbus) touch down to grow old beneath the desert sun. Victorville also has an excellent Route 66 Museum. You can easily access this stretch from either Las Vegas or Los Angeles on a two-day road trip. For me, that would be enough.
Q I am going for a family visit to Northern Ireland. I was hoping to spend a day going out to the Gobbins Cliff Path, but I understand it is closed until August at least because of a rockfall. What would you suggest instead?
Anthony W
A Take a trip around Strangford Lough, east of Belfast. It is shaped roughly like a dolphin and is officially 'the largest seawater inlet in Ireland and the UK'. The lough is also a marine conservation zone; a quarter of the world's population of pale-bellied Brent geese turn up there from Greenland each autumn.
You can make a rewarding circuit of the lough thanks to a ferry link across the narrow channel at the southern end. A car will be near-essential. Going clockwise, start at Bangor: a former mill town turned seaside resort. Then head for Newtownards at the northern end of Strangford Lough.
Start the circuit along the lough-side road. First stop: Mount Stewart – a magnificent 19th-century mansion belonging to the National Trust. The next village along is Greyabbey. The abbey ruins date from the 12th century. Lately, Greyabbey has become a hub for antique/vintage/craft shops. The peninsula offers two coasts for the price of one, so veer across to the eastern shore for a fine view (weather permitting) of the Mull of Galloway in southwest Scotland and possibly the Isle of Man.
It's a good drive along to the end of the lough and Portaferry – which, you may not be amazed to learn, is a ferry port. An eight-minute boat ride takes you across the narrow neck of water to the town of Strangford, with a postcard-perfect waterfront and good places to eat and drink. Just outside: the National Trust property of Castle Ward, which played the part of Winterfell Castle (home of the Stark family) in Game of Thrones.
Continue to the town of Downpatrick. Here, you can turn sharp right to travel along the western shore of the lough; steer straight back to Belfast on the A7; or go west to Banbridge for the Game of Thrones Studio Tour.
Q What are your thoughts on visiting Romania? If you recommend it, which city do you prefer and how long should I stay?
Paul Y
A Romania receives far fewer visitors from the UK than it should, given the nation's natural beauty, fascinating heritage and friendly people. I have been travelling there on and off for the past four decades and will return in July. Ideally, you should plan a trip of at least two weeks to make a full circuit of the nation, which is almost as large as the UK.
I shall pick out my highlights, so you can decide which and how many to include. Public transport is intermittent in many rural areas, so a rental car is a good idea if you want to explore deeply – starting with Transylvania, at the nation's heart. You can fly direct to many Romanian cities from the UK but I recommend Wizz Air from Luton to Brasov (where, in unusual circumstances, I was arrested for spying on my first visit). The city provides an excellent introduction to the Carpathian landscape and medieval architecture, including Saxon walls, which hint at the lands beyond. The countryside is peppered with Saxon villages such as Viscri, which are slowly being brought back to life – thanks in no small part to tourism.
Northeast from here, the swathe of territory south from the Ukrainian border, taking in Suceava and Iasi, has some astonishing painted monasteries. If you choose to stay in Iasi for at least a night, try the Neuscotz Palace: a former banker's mansion that is now the Hotel Select.
Bucharest, home to nearly 2 million people, is a good place to end your trip. As with so many capitals, it is unrepresentative of the wider nation but still rewarding. The 'Paris of the East', it may not be. But with appealing neo-classical mansions, places of worship and the vast Palace of Parliament – said (by the tourist office) to be 'the heaviest and the most expensive building in the world' – there is much to enjoy. In addition, prices are far lower than in western Europe, so you can live indulgently on the excellent food and drink.
Q Can you recommend an itinerary around Jamaica? I want to see as much as possible in nine days.
Name supplied
A Jamaica is unlike the average Caribbean island. Its sheer size – more than half the area of Wales – and geographical diversity make it ripe for exploration. The nation is also made for a circuit. It doesn't matter whether you arrive or depart at Kingston or Montego Bay, but this itinerary assumes 'MoBay' as the starting point.
Montego Bay is the hub for much Jamaican tourism, in the shape of all-inclusive resorts strung along the northwest coast. Call in at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre on Sam Sharpe Square, then follow the sun west to Negril. This is Jamaica's Land's End, and it feels suitably relaxed. Rick's Cafe is the place to go to watch the sunset, along with a can of Red Stripe.
Head inland to find the biggest expanse of pure wilderness in the Caribbean: Cockpit Country, a vast slab of limestone eroded into a strange landscape. A series of domes is interrupted by deep ravines and smothered by impenetrable vegetation – impenetrable, that is, except to the Maroons, the escaped slaves who created a community here in the 17th century. Turn southeast to Mandeville, over 2,000 feet above the Caribbean: a hill station boasting the oldest golf course in the western Hemisphere.
The capital, Kingston, is all about Bob Marley. A statue of the dreadlocked guitarist greets you as you walk through the gates of 56 Hope Road. He bought this rambling brick and clapperboard villa on the edge of Kingston 50 years ago, but sadly died of cancer six years later, aged 36. His former home is now a shrine.
Oracabessa Bay on the north coast is home to GoldenEye: 'A collection of private villas, cottages and beach huts … set amid tropical gardens, private beaches and secluded coves.' Ian Fleming's Caribbean hideaway is now a luxury resort with prices to match.
Further west, Ocho Rios is the cruise capital of Jamaica, with a couple of attractions on the edge of town: just to the south (on the road to Kingston), you can drive through Fern Gully – which feels as though you are tunnelling through the rainforest. And two miles out on the westbound coast road back towards Montego Bay, Dunn's River Falls comprises some pleasing cascades.