Lydden Hill

Wootton, Canterbury, Kent CT4 6ET www.lyddenhill.co.uk

Lydden Hill is just over a mile long and nestles in a natural amphitheatre in the Kent countryside just off the A2 before you get to Dover. Those of a certain age will remember this as being the venue for Saturday afternoon TV sport rallycross with Murray Walker commentating. The circuit has a long history of racing and was once owned by McLaren, who bought it with the intention of testing F1 cars.

The circuit is small but a spectators’ dream, as being set in a natural bowl it is virtually all viewable in several places so you can see pretty much all of a race.

The circuit became Tarmac in the early 1960s after converting from grass, but it has always maintained shale surfaces on the inside for the unique rallycross events – Top Gear filmed there a few years ago.

With multi-use the Tarmac was quite bumpy but was resurfaced two years ago and this has vastly improved things. Despite being only a mile long the circuit features a considerable gradient, including Hairy Hill – which after you’ve climbed it lives up to its name, as gravity does its thing and pushes riders downhill to an off camber sweeping right-hander .

The circuit is very popular with racers despite being so short – probably because it is surprisingly fast and the races get more laps than virtually every other circuit. Spectators love the circuit too as it’s probably the best circuit for viewing in the UK.

On the outside of the track there is a large grandstand on Hairy Hill where you can watch the riders straining engines going up (it is surprisingly steep and will have you very much out of breath walking up it), around the hairpin then racing downhill to the Paddock bend where some of the faster riders will actually take a swooping line off the track to take the off camber bend fast before going down the Canterbury straight, dropping into what is almost a bombhole feature at Pilgrims bend before rising up and through the sweeping bend called Chessons Drift onto the Dover slope. This can be tricky at times as this is where rallycross cars bring dirt and mud onto the circuit, so it can be slippy there in damp conditions. They then take Devil’s Elbow, the only left-hand bend on the circuit, then it’s back up Hairy Hill to do it all again.

On a nice day Lydden is very much a natural sun trap and as the race there is traditionally in summer you stand a good chance of some sunburn. For eats and drinks there are food and drink vans behind the grandstands on Hairy Hill and sometimes there is also a band playing on a stage there. The local Kent pasties are pretty nice! There are also a couple of kiosks at the track entrance where a dummy grid forms by the side of Race Control buildings.

If you are staying the weekend or just going on Sunday then be aware that there are local noise restrictions and there is no racing until after 12 on a Sunday. This means a lay-in and relaxed vibe, so most years there is a party and barbecue under an open scrutineering bay, so if you are spectating you are welcome to join in... but chip in some money or drink as the barbecue is funded by the race club.

Although Sunday racing starts later, don’t let that put you off as there will still be plenty of track action. Being small and having a complete dummy grid on the circuit entrance makes for very quick changeovers between races, so the organisers can get a lot of races in.

Over the weekend the now traditional Memorial Race is held, which is a non-championship race to remember riders who have passed away. This race is the one everyone wants to win and has historically featured some amazingly hard-fought races between the best riders.