Firstly, a big welcome from us here at MotoGP HQ, you’re in what admin like to call our home country. The UK really is one of the great destinations on our calendar. It’s impossible to condense down into a book just how much you can do in the UK, particularly in ‘summer’, so we’re going to focus on the easy, the interesting and the alternative in this one, as well as something at the end for motorsport lovers to continue their British GP elsewhere.
So, let’s start with Silverstone then – where exactly is the home of British motorsport? This vast complex, so vast it spreads across Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, is right in the middle of the country, 2 hours north of capital London and just over an hour from other major cities in the area such as Birmingham, Nottingham and Leicester. If you’re coming from overseas then you’ll more than likely fly into London, from which the world is your jellied eel.
But how exactly do you make the most of your time in the United Kingdom whilst also taking in one of the most iconic race tracks in the world? The UK is a hard one: firstly, you’re going to need to be brutal with what you want to see and what you’ll leave until next time because for sure, you’ll be back. London itself is every bit and more what it’s hyped up to be. Admin writing this is from London, has lived in London and still hasn’t seen all of it. 3-4 days there could cover off all the main tourist attractions and give you a real sense of one of the world’s greatest cities, whilst a week would give you the perfect opportunity to get out into some amazing, yet undiscovered areas that are every bit as good as the established tourist trail. Think Greenwich, Richmond Park and Maida Vale. All London, all different.
Once out of the capital, you’re spoilt for choice. The regenerated northern industrial cities of Birmingham (we’re aware we’ve put that in the northern category), Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield are all modern student hubs with vibrant nightlife and packed full of some of the most iconic music venues. But it’s the countryside that lies near or between these great places and the market towns that act as halfway houses which brings in that picture postcard British image. The Peak District is one of the most beautiful areas of the UK whilst the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has become a real international draw in recent years and is less an hour by car from Silverstone; if you fancy a summer evening in Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold or Chipping Norton, you’re in the right part of the country. You certainly won’t be left with Diddly Squat to do in this part of the country.
For those of you continuing a pursuit of motorsport heritage then there’s plenty in the UK that can be done. For a start, if you fly into Birmingham, you’re a stone’s throw from the national motorcycle museum whilst you’ve also got the British Motor Museum in Warwick. Brooklands is a crossover of motorsport and aviation down the other end of the UK in Surrey but then if you want to partake in a motorcycle trip of your own, the North Coast 500 really is something to behold in the Scottish Highlands. One other off the beaten track bit of motorsport tourism? Well, go to southeast London’s Crystal Palace Park, once a race track where the likes of Barry Sheene and Mike Hailwood – two British motorsport icons – battled it out against local heroes.
So, there you have it; the places, the history, the sites to check out. Now you just need to know how to enjoy it to the max; a pint is of course the way forward and it can be from microbreweries to tastes and flavours you’ve never had. 2000 independent breweries, over 10,000 varieties produced. Then you’ve got the food; we’re not up there with the likes of Spain or Italy but home-cooked pub grub is some of the best. Shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, a Sunday roast or a full English and a whole host of sauces plus more, there’s plenty to go off. If pints aren’t your scene, a cup of English tea always hits the mark too.
We might be a small country in comparison to some of our European neighbours and our weather might not be the most predictable – but a trip to Great Britain is always worth it.