It seems that I have kind of a pattern with Instagram, because how I ended up in Silverstone is basically the same story as how I ended up in Maranello. Instagram showed me that the Silverstone museum exists, then I looked up where it is, and decided to go.
To be fair, I think going there from London by public transport is kind of mission impossible, and I totally felt like Tom Cruise doing his own stunts, because I had to take 3 trains and a bus – in which sequence the connections were pretty tight and none of those things went very often. On the way there, I got a bit (and by bit I mean a lot) anxious when they announced the delay of the train, or the bus would just now show up in time.
Finally, I made it, though it is almost American-like, how much that place is optimized for cars (well, it’s for car racing, I don’t know what I expected). I didn’t really know how or where to enter even the parking lot, so I kind of climbed through some fence, but don’t tell anyone!! All in all, I do not suggest going there the same route I took, but I don’t really see other options if you don’t have a car.
Either way, it was totally worth the visit! The museum itself has two floors, and begins on the top floor, where I was introduced to the different parts of the track and why they are named how they are. There is a scalextric track, which was closed when I was there. But I was compensated because this year is the 75th anniversary of Silverstone, they bring out stuff each week from the archives, so I could see a document from 1985 that was signed by some really big names. And even though I didn’t know a lot of F1 history at that point (I still don’t, but I’m improving), even I recognized them. It was quite a surprise how it was not behind a glass wall or anything, and I practically could have stolen it. I’m sure its value would have covered the cost of all my carventures in the next 5-10 years. 😀
After the first floor, I went down to the ground floor, where all the cars or exhibit are. Yes, there are some gems (like Button’s Brawn GP car), but what I liked the most was the part where they explain how the different parts of the car work. There is a dedicated part for aero, the engine, the tyres, the gearbox (my love :D), the safety, materials, etc – and it is very interactive, there are also a lot of videos that you can watch, and they explain it in a way that anybody can understand it. I spent like 2 hours there, really trying to understand, especially the engines, and I think most of the things I know comes from that day.
Then I went out to the track. This was the first real F1 track that I visited, and that I actually walked. Of course, you are not allowed to walk the actual circuit, only the historic parts, but it was still magical. Especially that 2 Formula cars were on track, and wow, I just loved watching and hearing them. I think it was also a test for myself that my enthusiasm for cars and F1 is not a fluke. 😀
At the end of course I visited the gift shop, because I had some memento of this awesome day, and I got a bunch of small stuff like coasters, and a travel mug, and even though, it felt a bit like cheating on Ferrari, I got a McLaren warm hat (it was a great idea, because it was superwindy around there, and the hat I wore wasn’t that warm).
Going back home was also mission impossible, but in a different way. I was not in a hurry anymore, but the bus that Google told me to take turned out to be nonexistent, so there I was in the middle of nowhere, it was freaking cold, even with my new McLaren hat… Fortunately, bus drivers were really helpful, and I managed to put together a possible route back to Milton Keynes. (Which really is as boring as they say it is. :D) But again, don’t do this after me! 😀
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