Silverstone - F1

[Yhu453]

Not really a holiday but didn’t know where to post!

Myself, DH & 2 children (under 10) are going to the F1 at Silverstone for the first time and was wondering if anyone has any good tips on what to do/what not to do?

I went a few years ago and loved it!
Theres plenty to do and see. I arrived to the family camp on the Wednesday. Only a few food trucks were open. The track opened on Thursday but all the excitement really started on the Friday. Walking around the track is great. On Friday and Saturday we were able to sit anywhere so moved around a lot to try out the different corners. We only had to sit in our assigned seats for the race.
Food and drink was very expensive so we ate at the track at lunch but had taken stuff with us to cook at our campsite for dinner. Lots
of stalls to go and see. The family campsite had tents with a big screen and some films/ Wimbledon was shown. The adult site had a mini fun fayre type thing when j was there, they had different little stalls for f1 merchandise. The track itself had lots of shops and loads to see about the different teams.
Lots of children have ear defenders on throughout the weekend!

@Yhu453 just spotted your post.As it’s this weekend thought I would add.

Take binoculars so you can read the timings on the big screens. The screens are great but if you want to see the timings binoculars help.

I agree with pp food & drink is expensive so a picnic can save ££.

Make sure you have sunscreen, hats, possibly lightweight waterproofs as you never know what the weather will do.

There is a big stage where the drivers appear, but also there are a variety of music acts over the weekend.

Familiarise yourself with the circuit map and timetable www.silverstone.co.uk/events/formula-1-british-grand-prix/first-time-f1

I went last year when the weather was scorching, so plenty of suncream was needed. There were a LOT of sunburned people . Echo advice above to take your own food and drink in, it's extortionate and not great.

Not sure it it's an every year thing, but the park and ride last year was an absolute disaster. On Friday, but the day ended at 7:00 and we didn't leave until 10:00 and there were still huge crowds waiting then. Luckily we had camp chairs to wait in the queue (which are unsheltered with no loos are access to water). So on Saturday we watched in a Grandstand near the entrance and left as soon as the sprit race was over to try to beat the queues, so I'd just be mindful that leaving the track isn't as simple as it may seem.

10 quid for a pasty mind!! (Faints in Cornish)

you’ll have an ace time though!

Thanks everyone! We’re really excited!

Hubby says put wristbands on your kids with your contact details on. He sometimes does security there and has many missing children.

If you want a non Silverstone day there is a brand new cinema and entertainment complex opened in nearby Banbury called The Light. It's literally brand new - opened barely 3 weeks ago.
Apparently very good.

^ That obviously depends on how long you are in the area.

Incredible weekend. My tips would be... walk the whole site on Saturday and see all there is to see, stop at all the little stalls etc you want to. Then Sunday on race day just park yourselves somewhere for the race, and enjoy it. You are allowed to take a pretty unlimited amount of food and drink so my suggestion is to pick up one of those trolley wagons from somewhere like B&Q and load it with cool boxes for drink and food etc and chairs. You'll save a fortune and other people in the know will give you a nod as you wheel past!! Your kids will want a baseball cap - these can be as much as £60. Brace yourself for that discussion!!

We also went last year (just race day) in the blazing sunshine but were lucky enough to find seats in a covered stand. DH had shelled out a bit more for inner track so we had more options for seating.

The comments about the park & ride are spot on. It took ages to get on a bus, and even longer for the bus to leave the venue. And then leaving the park and ride was a nightmare too. People just cut across the grass to try to skip the queue. So lots of patience and a trip to the toilets before you get in the car to leave.

The chips are pretty good, and there are tasty ice creams.

Take lots of water.

Have the best time! We absolutely loved it and will go back when our small children are a bit older.

Lots of great suggestions, thank you 👍🏼

For those who have done the park and ride, how long roughly does it take to get to the circuit? Or does it just depend on traffic? We are parking at the M40 car park and getting the bus from there.

The actual bus trips themselves weren’t too long at all (about 30 mins), and getting in was a breeze. Similar on the way back, once we were on the bus, it was fine. The problem seemed to be the lack of buses and also lack of organisation of the queues. There only seemed to be one steward, no one knew which queue to get in, each line had about ten starting points… We didn’t actually have a problem leaving the park and ride, unlike the poster above. Maybe the lack of buses solved that problem!

Does anyone know if vaccination passes are needed please? Trying to get all the paperwork (tickets, car park pass, hotel booking information) printed out and sorted today!

@LittleTabby I’m pretty certain vaccination passes aren’t required. I haven’t seen anything mentioned about them.

@Yhu453 been meaning to ask if you had a good time. The crowds looked to have so much fun.

@seemsikeaniceday it was great thank you! would love to go back again next year. The only thing I would change is taking the kids. It was too much for them and they were grumpy most of the weekend!

so glad you enjoyed it. Totally understand about 5he kids, it’s actually a very long day.