Dizzee Rascal goes on 200-mile drives alone when he is "bored".

The 32-year-old rapper likes to jump in his car and head up the motorway from London to Manchester, north west England, because it's "far" and it gives him something to do when he is sitting at home.

He said: "Every now and then I just drive to Manchester. There ain't even no real reason. Just 'cos it's far. Just 'cos it's 200 miles away and I can chill. If I'm bored, I just say, 'I'm going to Manchester.'

"I just drive up, link up with some people, and come back."

However, Dizzee's solo trips to the north of England don't always go according to plan, such as once when his satellite navigation system took him in the wrong direction and he ended up driving around cliffs for "hours and hours" in a "rough" part of the country.

He said: "But you know what happened to me once? My satnav took me the wrong way. It ended up taking me around the outskirts. It was called Stockport, or something.

"It was rough. It felt like I'd gone back to the early 90s.

"I was on my own, driving for hours and hours around the coast. There were loads of cliffs and s**t like that. I was like, 'Where the f**k is this?' "

Dizzee - who was born in Bow, east London - is used to seeing the UK when he is on tour and admits it is up there with the "best" places in the world.

He added to Shortlist magazine: "If it wasn't for the love and following I have from the British people, I never would've seen the country. It's one of the best in the world.