It’s always a thrill to explore a new museum, and this month I’m visiting Northamptonshire’s newest!

The village of Silverstone in the south of our county is home to the U.K’s world class motor racing circuit. It’s the spiritual home of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, and after an investment of over £20million, it’s also the brand new permanent home of their archive collection, The Silverstone Experience, opened in October 2019.

I must confess, I am not a petrol-head, so I thought ‘well if it is going to excite me, it’s going to have to be awesome’. Readers, I can report, it is awesome!

Just arriving at the circuit gets the adrenaline going. The instantly recognisable whine of the racetrack greets your ears as you walk to the World War II RAF hangar, now transformed into a gleaming new home for The Experience. The huge space glows and thrums with tech enough to please those looking for thrills, but at the same time it tells the history of the circuit starting from the earliest days. If you are familiar with the circuit, you may recognise the names of some of the famous corners, such as Abbey, and Stowe. The history of the circuit is interpreted through the explanation of these names in a variety of imaginative ways. There are some fabulous details, stories of the Benedictine monks of Luffield Priory, with their alcoholic Prior William for instance, and the exploits of the mischievous pupils of Stowe school. Of particular interest and wonderfully interpreted is the RAF legacy. Audio visual displays tell inspiring stories of the heroic personalities who lived and worked at the aerodrome, and there are several opportunities to try various skills needed to pilot and crew the Wellington Bomber. These include a replica Link Trainer used by the RAF to train pilots, and a Turret Trainer, which allows you to practice taking down barrage balloons. Here the adults were just as much engaged as the children…

Other fun hands-on activities include the opportunity to build a virtual race car, then send it on a lap to see how it does, and even better, race it against your neighbour’s design. This leads on to the next section, ‘how to build a race winner’. I found this fascinating, just exploring how cars work in general. There’s loads to learn about how design, bodywork and materials can all affect a car’s performance. Again, there are a lot of hands-on opportunities to play with various elements such as brakes and gears, tyres and suspension. The displays work well for both adults and children.

After learning about design, we then go on to discover how a Race Day works; such as how safety on and off the track is managed, and how the pits work.

The big highlight of the exhibition is a brilliant timeline of the circuit itself since the inaugural meeting in 1948. This charts the memorable happenings, races and evolution of the track. It’s illustrated by absolutely amazing memorabilia and photography, accompanied by profiles of the colourful personalities of the motor racing world who have visited and worked at Silverstone. This part of the exhibition is where you can see some of the most significant cars and motorcycles to have competed and won at the circuit. There are classic sports and touring cars and bikes, as well as the iconic MotoGP and Formula 1 machines. There are race suits and helmets from the 1950s through to today, even Lewis Hamilton’s suit, boots and lid. Again for me it’s the details that please, such as Barry Sheene’s 1979 Suzuki bike, race suit and helmet, complete with hole for his cigarette so he could continue smoking until the last minute before the race.

The literally thrilling climax of the whole experience is in a special-effects cinema. Here you experience a single lap of the circuit, meeting many of the iconic vehicles and dramatic moments learned about in the exhibition. It took my breath, and my stomach, away. Then one emerges blinking into the reception area to be greeted by a very exciting shop full of Silverstone and racing memorabilia, perfect Christmas shopping ideas for those difficult people… However I resisted, and wandered outside enjoying a breath of fresh air whilst watching some practice laps.

This new museum is such an inspiring mixture of history, science and sport, there’s something here to capture everyone’s imagination. As it is open every day except Christmas Day you can safely take the whole family for a great Northamptonshire day out.

Merry Christmas everyone!

For more information, please visit www.silverstone-experience.co.uk