Galvinc, I didn’t camp there myself but I definitely recommend it.
We stayed in Aldwick which is only a few miles out but took over hour to get in each morning because of the amount of traffic going in. This was quite fun though, as even before we got in we’d spot Ferraris, Lambos, Caterhams, even the odd Pagani here and there on the roads into the festival. Once we arrived at the site, it took almost another hour to queue and get in and then another half and hour (or fifteen minutes if we used the free but massively uncomfortable tractor service) to get to the top of the hill because the festival is absolutely massive. I almost missed seeing Lewis Hamilton, and almost missed getting his autograph. If you want to have that kind of thing, be early and wait at the front. When the F1 drivers come out the crowds aroudn the grandstands or at the top of the hill get huge and you’ll be n the middle of a scrum trying to get to the front to get an autograph.
Grandstand tickets are well worth it but they are expensive. They’re almost as much as the tickets themselves. I’d recommend them for one day, while the other days can be spent looking in the paddocks and other areas. The superstars and fast hill climbs are on the weekend usually and I found the best places to be for them are at the top of the hill climb where they’ll sign autographs, or at The Corner where they come pelting round spectacularly and sometimes stop to do donuts and burnouts.
You’ll definitely want a day or two to wander the other areas though. It’s basically one huge showroom with some of the most glorious cars around. You may even spot some celebrities. I was wandering around soaking in the atmosphere when I heard a thing on the tannoy saying ‘a legend in F1 circles’, ran to the BMW paddock and saw Murray Walker and Jake Humphrey. They chatted and I was second in line to get their autographs!
Basically if you see big crowds, usually it’s a celebrity or famous racing driver giving a chat. In the paddocks alone I managed to see Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov and Nigel Mansell and got their autographs.
As for the Sunday, my friend and I got lost (it’s that big) and we somehow ended up wandering the festival as everyone was packing to leave. This was a wonderful opportunity to see some of the paddock cars drive away, and to chat to some of the drivers. Nobody cared that we should’ve been heading to the car! Even when we did get to the car, we saw there were still one or two left in the car park.
I’m not sure if you can camp over on the site until Monday but I’d also recommend that if it’s possible, especially if you’re traveling back up to Yorkshire. It took me 4 hours to get back to Leicester, York is about another 3 on top of that. Don’t worry about traffic though, it was much quicker going out than it was getting back in especially if you dawdle about for a bit when the festival ends.
