British Grand Prix

Silverstone

How to get there

The nightmare traffic jams of old, and the interminable crawl through Northamptonshire villages, have largely been solved by the dual carriageway A43. Unless you're an early bird you will still have to queue, but it's nothing like it used to be and certainly no worse than other European circuits.

Where to stay

There are a few local B&B places, but these are usually booked seemingly years in advance. There are hotels in Northampton, Towcester and Brackley but don't expect the nightlife and atmosphere of Barcelona or Shanghai. Alternatively, there is plenty of camping at or near the circuit, but beware the British weather.

What else to do

There's not a huge amount to do in the immediate area, although there is the after race party and the campsites are generally fairly lively.

Transport to the circuit

As an alternative to driving, either camp or hire a coach. It's not as expensive as you might think, avoids the queues and you can have a beer or three during the day as well.

Which grandstand

The new layout has provided an excellent grandstand at Village, enabling you to see the cars through the Loop section. Copse has always been a great place to watch, with a view down to the pit straight and the cars on the edge as the take the high speed right hander and another good vantage point for the cars at speed is the Club Silverstone grandstands at the Maggotts / Beckets complex. Woodcote and Luffield give you plenty of time to see the cars through the slow section of the circuit as well as hard braking at the end of the Wellington straight.

Circuit facilities

Most of the merchandising is behind the pit straight grandstands, or at the back of Luffield and the old pit straight, although there are stalls scattered in most places around the outside of the circuit. It's a similar picture for food, but the variety available in the main merchandising area is better than any other circuit, with pizza, curry, thai, chinese etc all available as well as the usual burgers and bacon butties.