Thinking of going to Silverstone F1 2017

[lotos]

Hi all, for my birthday next year my wife had the idea to go to England and go the British Grand Prix race. (Don't think it's all altruistic, she really just wants a trip to Europe! )

Looks like it's not really near any major cities. What's the advice on where to stay? I'll have my kids with me (they'll be 6 and 4 at the time), so I will just go on Sunday for the race. We'll be doing days in London, as well as a trip to Liverpool (more Beatles fun), and going up to Loch Ness for the kids afterwards.

Early stages of planning now, but need to get my ducks in a row so I can use airline miles on the flights.

[Rambo]

Don't bother with Loch Ness. There's nae monsters and it's full of tourists and tourist tat ! Plenty of lovely lochs in Scotland a bit off the beaten track though

As for Silverstone, there are plenty of self catering cottages and hotels in the vicinity but very expensive. When Muley (Jim) and I go to the Silverstone Classics a couple of weeks later we camp but that's not an option for a couple of little uns. My advice would be to get on to Google, Booking.com and /or Trip Adviser. But do it early as the good stuff is usually booked years in advance. And as for tickets to the F1, not only are they very expensive, but also usually always sold out quickly. So plan early and book early

[Saltire]

Just a thought, but have you considered renting a motorhome? Something like a Winnebago's a bit too big for UK roads, but you can get friendlier-sized ones that sleep up to 6 for reasonable money. You could do Silverstone and have the van to travel wherever you wanted around the UK afterwards. There are a number of firms, but this one might give you some ideas to start with.

Hope this helps

[Artaban]

Camper van is a great idea but if you don't want to do that then I think I would use https://www.airbnb.com and look around the Banbury area. You can get some really nice properties for good prices. Getting into London is easy on the train (about 1 hour) and into Oxford in 20 mins. Not sure about public transport into Silverstone but there must be some from Banbury as its one of the closest train stations to the circuit. Trains also go every hour from Banbury to Birmingham Airport and you can fly to Inverness with flybe.com. Try not to combine a trip to the Scottish Highlands with the midge season. If you do get the family to all take up pipe smoking Can help keep them away as tourists don't bite but midges do.
Just some ideas for you. Hope the planning goes well.
Andy

[Rambo]

I hadn't considered a camper van. Excellent idea and you will have somewhere dry and midge free when you explore those Highland lochs

[rip]

Looks like it's not really near any major cities. What's the advice on where to stay?

Silverstone is between Oxford, Milton Keynes & Northampton.
All 3 have good transport links, Milton Keynes slightly better than the other 2.
Oxford is the more interesting & is easier to get to from Heathrow.

[Kathryn]

I'd suggest Oxford area too. My brother and I went to Siverstone from his home on the outskirts of Oxford a few weeks ago. Took less than an hour to get there.