The Road Safety Foundation’s latest report on Britain’s most dangerous roads has identified 10 “persistently higher risk roads” and analysed the types of crashes at them.

One major conclusion that leaps out of the report is that five of the top 10 are in the Peak District, with Buxton being the hub. Of course, if you take care behind the wheel and don’t take unnecessary risks, these dangerous roads offer challenging, but rewarding drives. As long as you keep an eye out for bikers, some of whom over-rate their own skills.

10: A588: A585 (Skippool) – Lancaster (35 fatal and serious crashes)

With the second highest number of fatalities in our list – a total of 35 in the last five years – the 19-mile A588 winds through the Over-Wyre villages and across marshland near the Cockerham Sands area of Morecambe Bay and up to Lancaster. It’s another road where bikers tend to come unstuck (49% of crashes involve them) and the number of junctions also tends to cause problems (37% of crashes).

9: A5004: A6 (Whaley Bridge) – Buxton (16 fatal and serious crashes)

Yet another dangerous road around Buxton, the A5004 climbs in a north-westerly direction out of the spa town with a series of fairly gentle curves, reaching a height of 1,400 feet. After this, it starts a descent with a number of sharp bends, followed by a straighter, faster section around the village of Fernilee, which gives way to another series of bends before Whaley Bridge.

8: A54: Congleton – Buxton (28 fatal and serious crashes)

We’re back near Buxton and the Peak District again. The A54 is a major road that gets tricky as it leaves Congleton and rises into the Peaks. After crossing the A523, the road narrows considerably, twisting and turning as the elevation increases. However, there are some fast, open stretches between the bends, so bikers, in particular (they’re involved in 54% of crashes), frequently run off the road.

7: A6075: A614 (New Ollerton) – A1 (Tuxford) (18 fatal and serious crashes)

This is a particularly dangerous road for pedestrians and cyclists, who are involved in a third of crashes. After a long, open road from Tuxford (and, chances are, a stint on the A1), drivers probably get too used to carrying a bit of speed. They get caught out by some sudden tricky bends and crests around residential Kirton and up Cocking Hill to New Ollerton.

6: A285: Petworth – A27 (Chichester) (29 fatal and serious crashes)

Well known to anyone who makes pilgrimages to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed and Revival, the A285 starts out fast and open. However, things get a bit twistier with a steep, winding climb up into the South Downs. The combination of these bends, a number of junctions and the temptation of a quick descent has proved fatal for 29 people in the last five years.

5: A530: A525 (Whitchurch) – Nantwich (23 fatal and serious crashes)

This fast, open Cheshire road proves too tempting for local drivers – and it is drivers, because only 26% of crashes involve motorbikes. The junctions cause the biggest problems, especially at Wistaston Green Road (a junction between two fast bends) and Colley’s Lane just outside Nantwich. The problems continue on the way to Whitchurch on another fast, open stretch with tricky bends that can catch drivers out.

4: A621: A619 (Baslow) – Totley (15 fatal and serious crashes)

The 11-mile A621 takes the driver out of the steel city of Sheffield and into the wilds of the Peak District (again), climbing up onto the moors, where the stunning views of wild moorland and rocky outcrops are obviously too distracting. Add a load of HGVs into the mix and it’s no surprise that the road has claimed 15 lives in the last half-decade.

3: A682: M65 J13 (Nelson) – A65 (Long Preston) (24 fatal and serious crashes)

Whether drivers are still in motorway mode after the M65, or are over-excited by the thought of the picturesque Yorkshire Dales at the end, the A682 has something that tempts road users into taking risks. There have been 24 deaths in the last five years, although it’s the only road in the top 10 that doesn’t include any pedestrians or cyclists in that figure.

2: A5012: A515 (Pikehall) – A6 (Matlock) (25 fatal and serious crashes)

The A5012 is nine miles long and connects the A6 with the A515, which goes on to Buxton (yep, there again). The narrow road twists and turns through the deep Via Gellia valley, before opening out in the Peaks – which seems to encourage over-ambitious use of the throttle. In the last five years there have been 25 fatalities, with 76% of crashes involving motorbikes.

1: A537: Macclesfield – Buxton (44 fatal and serious crashes)

Still Britain’s most dangerous road is the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton, commonly known as the Cat and Fiddle.

It’s not a long stretch – only around 11 miles – but this road across the Peak District national park has seen crashes rise by 66% in the last five years and, compared to the average risk rating for similar roads, it comes out as nine times more dangerous.