Welcome to the forum, sorry about your accident but I'm not suprised to hear, what I was in Portugal I was bloody terrified of the driving haha! Not everyone did it but the ones who did were very risky.
I love Wales personally but the Police can be a pain in the arse. Roads over the Peak District and into Yorkshire are pretty nice, I usually follow it down through Stocksbridge and Oughtibridge and then on down more country roads
Also, Lancashire has some good roads from what I have seen but...
Stuff them, Twigs, I don't see why I should have to pay to replace it when someone has stole it. I know it's only £7 but it's the principal. At the end of the day, ANPR tells the Constables whether it is insured or not so it's kind of obselete in my eyes.