The banking
Climb the surviving 1907 concrete on foot and feel a gradient no photograph conveys.
kitmasterbloke — CC BY 2.0 · 35mmMan — CC BY 2.0 · MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC (MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC) from SEATTLE, SEATTLE — CC BY-SA 2.0 · James E. Petts — CC BY-SA 2.0
Before any purpose-built racing circuit existed anywhere, a wall of tilted concrete was poured across the Surrey fields in 1907, rising like a frozen wave. What survives of the Brooklands track today is a stretch of that banking you can climb on foot; about two-thirds of the way up you realise it is far steeper than it looks from the paddock, and that the drivers who lapped it at 200 km/h were built differently. This is the birthplace of British motor racing and, at the same time, of British aviation: some of the very first British aeroplanes took off here, and Vickers and Hawker later built their factories on the site. It is not one hall but a sprawling, mostly outdoor site with buildings dotted about: the old Clubhouse with its balcony and café, sheds of pre-war racing cars and motorcycles, and a line of aircraft that runs from a Vickers Vimy replica through a Wellington bomber to a VC10 airliner you can board. The undisputed star is Concorde 'Delta Golf'. You see her from outside on the standard ticket; going aboard is a separate 35-minute tour for a maximum of 16 people that you add at checkout when buying admission online, or buy on the day if places remain, and the slots are limited and go quickly in the summer holidays. On the same ground, and on the same ticket, sits the London Bus Museum, which small children tend to love more than anything else here. A plain word: this is a place for people who care about engines, wings and engineering history, and for families who need a day where the children can run about between real aircraft. Anyone else will get two amusing hours out of it, no more. The ground is uneven in places but fine for pushchairs; every aircraft, Concorde included, is boarded by steep steps with no lift. It is not cheap: GBP 25.70 for an adult booked online in peak season and about GBP 27 at the gate, roughly GBP 1.50 less in winter, around GBP 10-11 for children aged 4-17, under-fours free. 2026 is the centenary of Britain's first Grand Prix, run here on 7 August 1926, so premium-priced event days multiply through summer and autumn. From Windsor the car is the natural choice: roughly half an hour via the M25 and A3, leaving at the Painshill junction towards Byfleet, with free parking at the entrance. There is no direct train; take Windsor & Eton Riverside to Staines, change for Weybridge (about an hour in all), then walk 20-30 minutes, catch the 436 bus or take a short taxi. Doors open daily at 10:00, closing at 17:00 most of the year and 16:00 from early November to late February, with a closure over Christmas. Allow three to four hours, and pick a dry day, since half the pleasure is outdoors.
Climb the surviving 1907 concrete on foot and feel a gradient no photograph conveys.
Boarding is a separate 35-minute tour booked in advance or on the day; seeing her from outside is on the standard ticket.
Vintage red buses on the same site and the same ticket, and the part that wins the children over.
Brooklands Drive, Weybridge KT13 0SL
If the children are under ten, usually yes: room to run, real aircraft to board and the bus museum. Adults indifferent to engines will find it chilly and fairly pricey, and Windsor Castle or Legoland serves them better.
No. Standard admission gets you a look from outside; boarding is a separate paid tour added at checkout on the website or bought on the day if places remain, with only 16 people per tour, and in the summer holidays its slots sell out days ahead, so book early.