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British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Have accomodations in Watford . Am planning on going to Grand Prix at Silverstone. Does anyone know if there is transportation to the track? Is daily transportation between Watford and central London feasible? Want to do the London tourist attractions (first time to Britian) after the race -July 6- 12./2015. Some sites of interest as well as central London - Bath, Stonehenge. Any advice welcome!! Thanks in advance!
Carol
ackblock@shaw.ca

Posted by
8889 posts

I don't know of any transport to Silverstone. Since it is an event for "Petrol-Heads", I imagine car is the only option.

Transport from Watford to London is easy. There are multiple railway stations in the town, all of which have good (many times per hour) services into central London.
Any trips outside London (Bath etc.) would have to be done by car from Watford (see http://www.viamichelin.com/ ) or involve going into London by train, and getting another train out of London.

P.S. Why Watford? it seams equally inconvenient for both destinations.

Posted by
32517 posts

Are you at the Holiday Inn Express at Watford Junction? If so, its about 3 minutes' walk to the station. Take a London Midland train from the station towards Northampton or Birmingham and alight at Northampton (at around 40 minutes from Watford Junction) where buses are usually lined up on race day direct to the track.

The new Managing Director of Silverstone has said that he is going to try to make race day tickets at the British Grand Prix under £100. We'll see.

I don't think that the buses to the track run on Saturday for Qualification or Friday for Free Practice, but there are plenty of taxis. No, I don't have a scoobie about their prices.

There is a very frequent service between Watford Junction and London Euston, some express and some stopping 2 or 3 times, and the Overground on platforms 1 through 4 which takes an age and stops at every anthill. London Euston is over an Underground station for the Northern Line (all branches) and the Victoria Line. Just 150 metres away or so is the Euston Square Underground station served by the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, and Circle Lines.

Posted by
32517 posts

If you aren't at the Holiday Inn Express, you might be at the Premier Inn or elsewhere.

If not at the "Junction" then you will be considerably less convenient, and likely either taking a bus to the Junction or joining the Overground all stopper at Watford High Street or other station.

If the station you are nearest is just called "Watford" then you will be quite a long Underground ride to London on the Metropolitan Line, and not near the most convenient train line. The Chiltern railway isn't a million miles away and runs into London's beautiful Marylebone station, and north to Amersham, but the line to Birmingham which stops at Banbury from which a long taxi ride can reach Silverstone, but that line has suffered a 350,000 tonne landslide which has shut the line - replacement buses going around the problem. I would expect the line to be closed another few months but it should be open again by July - but no guarantees.

ack block, can you share where in Watford you will be so that our advice can be more specific and therefor more helpful?

Posted by
5311 posts

Taking a taxi from a station etc is not really a good idea because of the traffic management system,. The A43 dual carriageway is configured so that all 4 lanes go to the Silverstone circuit in the morning, and away in the evening. There are ways round this using the local routes, but a taxi wouldn't be allowed into the circuit so you would have to walk in and arrange somewhere outside to be picked up from. The official point is in Silverstone Village. The bus shuttles from Northampton and Milton Keynes stations don't have this problem. The buses should run every 10 minutes on the Sunday but less frequently on practice days.

Posted by
3 posts

Wow, am impressed with the prompt replys: Currently at Best Western White House on Upton Road if that helps. Certainly open to suggestions for accomodations. Am excited to see Britian and open to all suggestions re accommodations and sights to see. Yes, I guess we can be referred to as "petrol heads" as we do enjoy the spectator aspect of the racing. We are also golfers and plan to include a spectator experience of the British Open. This is a once in a lifetime experience for us even though we are on a limited budget we are looking to take in as much as we can during our stay. Will be moving on to Edinburgh after London to be within range of St Andrews for the golf. Am excited to be having these conversations. Thanks to everyone for your input. Carol

Posted by
32517 posts

Well, according to their website, they are a mile from the Junction and not convenient to other stations.

So, for normal brisk walkers, and walking through the shopping precinct, that's 15 to 20 minutes walk from the station...

Yes, Marco, I forgot the A43 strangeness. I always have to avoid going to Kidlington when the GP is in town... and now the MotoGP is staying, too!!

One other advantage to Watford Junction is that the Sleeper train to Scotland stops there...

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you Nigel and Marco, you have given me some specifics to work with re race days and the rest of our trip. Seemed like things in our price range were filling up quickly so just grabbed what was available (with cancellation rights) May have to rethink our plans. Appreciate your comments!

Posted by
61 posts

Hello, I went to the Grand Prix in 09. I did the same as you, a few days in London, and side trips to Windsor, and a day in York. I took a Megabus from Victoria Coach Station to the track. I believe this was only for the Sunday, I don't think they had any service to get you to practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday. I'd go to the Silverstone website, they have a section on visiting the track with advice on how to get there, accommodations, parking etc. If I remember correctly, I booked the bus right through their website. It wouldn't be that hard of a drive I don't think but I wouldn't want to deal with the parking, especially after that rainy weekend disaster a couple years ago. I believe there are also shuttles from hotels nearby the track.