The Silverstone Experience // Review

*Disclosure: We were gifted tickets in return for press coverage*

My eldest son, Olly, is a huge motorsport fan. Over the last couple of years he has really got into his motorsports so when I heard about the Silverstone Experience, I knew we had to go as a birthday treat. It’s located at one of the most iconic racing tracks in the world, Silverstone in Northamptonshire, the Silverstone Experience is a must see for all car mad fans!

What to expect at the Silverstone Experience

As a family, we weren’t too sure what to expect at the Silverstone Experience but we had hoped to see plenty of racing memorabilia and hands on activities for the children. As soon as we arrived, Olly was in awe of the suspended racing car in the entrance. Not only was it a real-life F1 racing car but it was British racing car driver, Lewis Hamilton’s 2016 F1 racing car! Impressed from the outset!

 

We went upstairs to start our look around the experience and we joined the grid. The grid is an immersive pre-show look at the history of Silverstone. With huge screens on the wall and painted grid lines on the floor, it was a great introduction to the race track.

As you walk through the grid and into the hangar, you’re introduced to the history of the Silverstone track and how it’s grown from an RAF base used in the Second World War and onto what it is today. There is plenty to read with artefacts and maps to look at. There’s also various activities to take part in, including landing a military plane and firing at the enemy. There’s also lots of information about how the corners of the track got their name including Copse, Stowe and Wellington!

 

Hands on activities to try out

As you walk around the experience, there’s plenty to try out and experience. Perhaps you want to try out marshalling and waving the flags on the track or discovering what happens in the pit lane, there’s loads to look at and keep you interested. Throughout the hangar, there’s various interactive quizzes, videos and hands-on things to do. My boys particularly loved colouring in, making words on the pit lane board and sitting in a replica car!

My husband was particularly fascinated by the history of Silverstone. It has really changed over the last 80 years with so many adaptations for International Motorsport and other iconic races. It’s crazy to think that military planes once took off from here on their training missions over Europe.

Learn more inside the Tech Lab

The Tech Lab is a brilliant space for visitors to find out more about racing. It shows what science and technology is used behind the F1 and other racing cars used on the track today. Olly was really interested in this section of the hangar. It’s where he was able to learn more about the tech used; all explained simply and in a way that he understood. I could see the cogs turning and the light bulb moment when he discovered something new. We finished our look around the Silverstone Experience with a walk around the heritage trail where you can go outside the hangar and explore the original track. This activity isn’t open all year round due to circuit activity restrictions so check before you visit if you want to make sure this is open.

 

What’s on for February Half Term?

This half term the Silverstone Experience has the School of Motoring event on. Children will be able to have a go at the Scalextric Grand Prix, get behind the F1 and off-road simulators and test their reactions on the Batak. Please note these are in addition to the ticket price and are an added extra to the experience. Head over to the Silverstone Experience website to find out more.

Good to know

There’s free parking, a small gift shop and an on-site cafe which sells hot and cold drinks and food. Whilst we were there, we had some lunch in the cafe during our visit, the children’s lunch box meal-deal was particularly welcomed from my hungry boys!

As a family, we all really enjoyed our day out at the Silverstone Experience. We were inside the hangar for about three hours (we have a two year old so it was slow going) and we walked outside for half an hour in the breezy February sunshine! I’m sure we would definitely consider going again should the cars change and the racing memorabilia refreshed.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy reading ‘The boys VIP day out at Thruxton‘.