The Goodwood Festival of Speed, held each July in West Sussex, is one of the great dates in the motoring calendar, supercars, Formula 1 legends and the famous hillclimb. From Buckinghamshire it is a proper journey, around two hours, and Goodwood's country lanes are notorious for festival traffic. Here is how to do it well.
- The Festival of Speed is held each July at Goodwood House in West Sussex.
- It is around two hours from Gerrards Cross via the M25 and A3, with heavy event-day traffic on the approach.
- A chauffeur handles the lanes and the parking fields, dropping you near the gates and collecting you after.
When and what is the Festival of Speed?
The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place each July, a four-day celebration of motorsport built around the hillclimb on the Goodwood estate. It draws huge crowds and an extraordinary collection of cars and drivers, which is exactly why the local roads struggle to cope.
How far is Goodwood from Buckinghamshire?
Goodwood is around two hours from Gerrards Cross via the M25 and A3 towards Chichester. The motorway part is straightforward; the challenge is the final approach through Sussex country lanes, which clog badly as tens of thousands of enthusiasts converge on the same few roads.
Why is the traffic so bad, and how do you beat it?
Goodwood sits in rural countryside served by narrow lanes never designed for festival crowds, so queues to the car-park fields, and especially to leave, are long. Leaving early and being dropped near the gates, rather than parking in a distant field, removes the worst of it.
Why book a chauffeur for the Festival?
A day at Goodwood is long and the parking walk is famously far. A chauffeur drops you as close to the entrance as access allows and collects you at an agreed point, so you skip the field, the shuttle and the exit queue, and arrive and leave in comfort at a fixed price. See our executive cars.
Is it good for a group of enthusiasts?
Ideal. Goodwood is a classic group day out, and travelling together by car keeps everyone together with no designated driver. For a full summer of motorsport, pair it with our British Grand Prix guide.