CALENDAR→FESTIVAL OF SPEED · 2027

The Festival of Speed: an early start, a long day on foot, and the exit everybody underestimates

[drv]

Doru Constantinescu

updated for the 2027 Festival, from the driver who does this run

BACK 15 TO 18 JULY 2027GOODWOOD ESTATE2H FROM MAYFAIRSMART CASUALGATES 7AM

BACK JULY 2027This year's Festival is done. The 2027 running is confirmed for 15 to 18 July; we take bookings from the autumn.

The shape of the day

Built around an early arrival and a late, patient exit, because that is the whole game at this one. Sunday adds the afternoon Shootout.

6:15 AMWe collect you in town. Early start; the car parks open at half six and the A27 is kind before eight, brutal after. Coffee is in the car.

8:15 AMDropped at Gate 1. The taxi and chauffeur set-down; we get you past the arrival queue and onto the estate on foot, unhurried.

9:00 AMThe hill opens. The Duke opens the course around nine; cars run up the driveway all day.

1:00 PMLunch, and the long middle. A big site, entirely on foot; we carry whatever you would rather not.

~4:15 PMThe Sunday Shootout. Timed runs into the late afternoon, the fastest cars saved for last.

7:00 PMWe wait out the crush. Everyone leaves at once and the exit gridlocks for an hour. We hold off-site and collect you when it eases, drink in hand, not in the queue.

↑ get there for gates, leave after the crush eases. the middle is all yours.

WHAT'S IN THE BOOT

Ear defenders, if the children are alongOURS

Sun cream, hats and cold waterOURS

Wet-weather coats, the site is open groundOURS

A folding stool for the long dayOURS

Shoes you can walk miles inBRING

Harkaway, a Goodwood Gold Cup winner, in an 1838 racing print — a Goodwood winner of 1838, sport on this estate long before the cars

How we prepare

WHEN YOU BOOK

We ask what time you want to be through the gates. This one rewards an early arrival and punishes a late one, so we usually leave town well before eight. We check whether you have children with you, because ear defenders and a folding stool change the packing.

THE DAY BEFORE

Route and the Gate 1 set-down confirmed, following the event signage and not the postcode. The A27 is clear early and gridlocked later, so the plan is built around beating it in and waiting it out. Weather read for mud or sun; the site is huge, open and entirely on foot.

WHILE YOU ARE THERE

Your driver drops at Gate 1 and holds off the estate, out of the exit trap. When the last runs finish everyone leaves at once; we come back once it eases, so your walk ends at a waiting car, not a queue.

Honestly, though

This is the one where the car matters most. The exit gridlock is genuinely bad, an hour or more, so being dropped at the gate and collected once it clears is worth real money here. On the busiest Saturday even we cannot make it fast, only comfortable.

The train and shuttle work too. Chichester station has a paid bus to the estate all day. Solo and travelling light, it sidesteps the car parks entirely, and we will tell you when that is the smarter call.

for next July

Tell us the day and how many, and we will come back with a departure time built around the crowds and a fixed price. Early booking gets the easier pickup.

plan my day →