Where to stay? Camping is expensive and the hotels are miles away. I don't think there are any bed and breakfasts near by? So is it camping or bust?
Unfortunately, any hotel and B&B in the area, charge what they want and usually get it. This late, unless you are prepared to travel each day from further out, camping is probably the easiest solution. The biggest area of campsites is the Dadford side of the track and provided by people like the Silverstone Golf Club (expensive but hot showers and reasonable toilets) to local farmers and of course Silverstone. IIRC, there are a couple of glamping sites in addition to the Silverstone offering. We did the Silverstone glamping last year and had an absolute hoot. Not cheap but a good quality (Victorian, Indian Army style) 4m diameter canvas tent for 2 people, proper beds with proper linen, hot showers and clean toilets. Even got a continental breakfast thrown in and an outdoor bar to chill at in the evening. We are glamping again this year and really looking forward to it. Andy
Ok that's super useful. Is the Friday night worth it? I was thinking doing the sat night then leaving sun evening
We arrive Thursday and mooch, our glamping includes the day of champions (well, it did last year). Friday we roam during the day, I splurged on stand tickets for Saturday and Sunday and we’ll leave Monday. Means we can catch the evening entertainment (which is pretty good this year) and leave without all the hassle of traffic queues. Andy
i dont drink. will i have a crap time? if i dont buy tickets for any of the stands and rely on roving will that be ok? last time i went i was in one of the stands that is not included in roving this year. not sure if it was one of the woodcotes
If you’re “roving” I would recommend taking a bicycle or two because it’s f’in miles to get anywhere in every direction you look or take. Wouldn’t recommend if you can avoid it either as the standing views are largely dog shit.
No sure why not drinking would detract from the experience. IIRC, there are 5 stands this year, that are reserved for all 3 days and all the other stands, Woodcote A & B included, are roving on Friday and first come, first served on Saturday and Sunday. I am aware that many view Silverstone with distaste, make of that what you will but I shall enjoy my 5 day weekend regardless. Andy
I think a lot of the distaste comes from the disgraceful fleecing of its customers but you’re right the spectacle and event itself is awesome. As you’ve pointed out though you need to throw a few £ at the weekend to make the experience enjoyable.
IIRC, at this years Spanish GP, the BT talking heads bumped into one of the Silverstone chief's in the paddock and asked what he was doing. They pointed out the huge attendance in Spain, the free or low cost parking/camping/grandstand access and reasonable ticket pricing, and asked if Silverstone could learn any lessons, in that it may be better to have higher attendance at less rip off prices. Mr Silverstone said that's why he was there, to see what could work at British GP, and the inference being it would be for this year. Normal caveats that Silverstone didn't own the land used for parking, camping, etc, etc, so had no control over pricing. Perhaps I missed the bit that it was too late to do anything for this years event, or are costs reduced (taking into account inflation, etc)
To my knowledge, the British Drivers Racing Club who own and oversee the management of the Silverstone track, have done sweet FA for this year. Silverstone decided DORNA costs were excessive during contract renewal negotiations which is why the GP was going to Donington before they defaulted and couldn't provide the track safety which is why it went back to Silverstone. I don't think it is coincidence DORNA is a Spanish organisation and Spanish tracks can offer better value for money. The MotoGP and F1 are cash cows for local economy and everyone takes advantage of it. Andy
Just looking back on my pics from last year when we flew my dad there by “copter Such a huge site and you can tell it’s not a cheap event to run. Free parking would be a decent starter for 10 though just to get a few more punters across the threshold. Sprint race might also do it. We’ll see.
I've brought tickets again for this year. But this is the first year that I haven't paid for grandstand tickets. As long as I've understood it right. There is about 5 grandstands that you can buy tickets for, but if you buy a general roving ticket you can get into the other grandstands. Which is great for me as tickets are cheaper and I'm mainly wanting to sit around maggotts area.
