The most glamorous bit of concrete in Britain
It could be the most glamorous bit of old concrete in the world, this cracked and scored collar of grey swooping 30 feet or so from ground level up to a fringe of Surrey trees.
Since 1907 the banked track at Brooklands racing circuit, 100-foot wide, tilted at an angle of 30 degrees, has seen records fall, drivers die, and generations of dashing, be-goggled men and women hurtling along at speeds of up to 144 miles per hour.
It is the oldest purpose-built motor racing circuit in the world. Older than Monza or Indianapolis or Le Mans. So significant that it’s a scheduled historic monument.
Now restoration has uncovered its lost Final Straight and revitalised the much-loved Brooklands Museum of motor racing, aviation and wartime engineering - but it’s still the banked track that fascinates. Now silent and unused, it once kept speeding cars on track, pinning them down with centrifugal force. It symbolised carefree youth.
Rich youth, of course. The circuit pretty well bankrupted Hugh Locke King, who had it built on his private estate as a showground for British engineering, but for decades it drew wealthy young drivers, pilots and hangers on with a craze for speed. It’s a soaring reminder of a lost age of the gentleman (or woman) amateur, pre-health and safety.
One of the gentlemen who won at Brooklands in the 1930s was Freddie March, the dashing 9th Duke of Richmond, who went on to create his own racing circuit next to the Goodwood estate on the Sussex Downs in 1948. Fifty years later it was restored by his grandson, now the 11th Duke, for the first Goodwood Revival in 1998. Part of its charm today is its diminutive scale, with low, brightly whitewashed buildings, a raised walkway by the track – and a control tower from its days as a Battle of Britain base.
Both Brooklands and Goodwood have Hillclimbs; short, steep stretches of road designed to test a car to its limits. Both stage spectacular events at their circuits and hillclimbs, as do the others mentioned below - and some of them are vintage-themed.
So don your togs: nothing like a few motorcars to give a course some va-va-voom.
How to visit
Brooklands Museum 01932 857381; brooklandsmuseum.com. 10am to 4pm, 10am to 5pm summer, closed over Christmas. Adults £15 (including Gift Aid), concessions £12.65, children aged 5 to 16 £7.70 and under 5s free. A surcharge is payable on premium event days. The Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsports Festival takes place on June 16/17, suitable for all ages.
Four more must-see racing circuits
Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb, near Worcester, Worcestershire
01886 812211; shelsleywalsh.com
Shelsley Walsh has hosted Midlands Automobile Speed Hillclimbs since 1905, two years before Brooklands opened, and can claim to be the oldest original motor racing course still in continuous use. It’s not a circuit but a thousand-yard, 1-in-6 steepest gradient roar up a twisting woodland racetrack in pursuit of BTD, or ‘Best Time of Day’. Classic Nostalgia, July 28/29: adult early bird £18, children under 16 free.
Goodwood Motor Sports, Sussex
01243 755055; goodwood.com/sports/motorsport
It’s a big year for petrolheads at Goodwood: 25th Festival of Speed (July 21 to August 4), with cars careering past Goodwood House en route to the Hillclimb (grandstand tickets from £10); and 20th Goodwood Revival (September 7 to 9) at the motor racing circuit, one of the events of the year for vintage cars and fashion. Roving grandstand tickets from £36. Children up to 2 years old free at both events.
Wiscombe Park Hillclimb, near Honiton, Devon
Another thousand-yard course with a 1-in-6 steepest gradient, the promisingly-named Martini Corner, just before the finish. The first hillclimb was staged here in 1958 by the owners of Wiscombe House, Richard and Bunny Chichester, with the help of friends. Public admission to race meetings from 10am, free entry to Competitors’ Paddock. Adults £10, children under 14 years free.
Secret Britain | More surprising attractions on your doorstep
Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire
01994 453488; carmarthenshire.gov.wales
In 1924 Malcolm Campbell set a world land speed record of almost 150 mph on a seven-mile stretch of Carmarthenshire beach known as Pendine Sands. It became the setting for repeated attempts by Campbell and rival J G Parry-Thomas, who was killed here in his monster car, Babs. The Museum of Speed (and Babs) overlook the beach and open April to October. Adults £2 when Babs is there, free admission if not. Motor racing events – including Hot Rods and Straightliners - still place on the sands.
