Goodwood Revival

On Sunday I took the boys to Goodwood Revival with my sister and David. I have gone every year since 2009 and it was the only racing event this year having decided that the Festival of Speed and British F1 Grand Prix were going to be too much. And I only decided to go To Revival a few weeks ago after thinking I could be dropped outside the main entrance and just view from the wheelchair viewing platform nearby.


Having arranged the morning carer for 7 30, we managed to leave at 9 30 and arrived at 11. Goodwood staff hadn't been been particularly helpful in the preceding weeks regarding dropping off so I told David to just follow the Chauffeur Drop Off signs until we got stopped which we eventually did and got directed across a field (which the dropping off plan was meant to have avoided!) However the next marshall was very helpful ad they let us drive upto the main gate.


Once in we headed to the wheelchair viewing platform on the pit straight. I already knew that without the offroad wheelchair I wouldn't be able to negociate the perimeter path to the previous years' vantage point on the grass bank from where you can see much more of the track. But at least the platform was big enough for everyone to join me. As other wheelchairs left during the afternoon I manouvered into a spot where I could look down the track and also see the video screen. There were the usual idiots that decided perching on wall in front of me was a great location for taking photos; they were quickly told it wasn't! Later I felt a little guilty asking my sister to ask an old couple to move. They had sat on the wall, to take the weight off their feet and thought it was a good view so stayed there. The whole point of a wheelchair viewing platform is to give people whose eyeline is 3 feet off the ground a chance of seeing something so I get pissed off with anyone who can't grasp this concept.

Anyway the afternoon was great and the boys enjoyed it too, particularly Luke who had beforehand claimed it would be boring because "all the cars are old"! But Luke has become a walking Google when it comes to car facts, so when 16 Ferarri GTO's appeared he soon worked out that he was looking at £400,000,000 worth of cars. It wasn't actually a race but a parade of the largest gathering of GTO's in history. Some of them were in a later race with a grid worth £100M. Other races included 50s and 60s Le Man and Grand Prix cars as well as a liberal sprinkling of classic Bugatti, Masserati, Lambourghini and Aston Martin.

The weather was perfect; mild, dry and overcast (sun is a pain with the eyegaze). On previous years we have gone around the paddock but this year they weren't giving public access until later and with carer times in mind, we headed back.

Thanks to Sue and David for taking us all