Goodwood Festival of Speed

On Friday I made the trip down to the Goodwood Festival of Speed just outside Chichester in the south of England . This was just what I needed as I have been London bound for the last couple of weeks and wanted to get out for a little adventure even if it is just 60 miles down the road . I left the house at 7.00 am on the dot and made for the tube from which I would connect with the overland rail at Victoria . The train was packed full with people making their way to Goodwood but by the time I finished the paper we were almost their anyway . Outside the train station there were charted buses which would take you directly to the Goodwood Estate however they would not work with the "busplus" option I purchased with my rail ticket......however it wasn't outrageously expensive so I went with it and saved myself a good half an hours worth of walking . The walk from the front gate to the show was a long one but like anyone whose watched anchor butter adds knows good things take time and it was all worth while when I walked through the ticket gate . First thing you were greeted by was the a hall full with mostly the latest and greatest from a number of manufactures apart from Jaguar who were showing some really nice early pre-war models . To see everything you would probably have to spend a good chuck of the weekend there or at get there first thing . I didn't do either so I had to be selective in what I looked at but I was really there to look at the old Alfas and rally cars , anything else was a bonus . As the Red Arrows started their show I made my way around the exhibition area and up the hill looking for a good spot to view the cars coming up the hill climb and eventually found a good spot half way up the hill . I don't think I have ever been in one place where there have been so many cars that I wanted to steal but somehow I managed to resist the urge . After walking up the hill for a bit I found a nice spot with a view of the cars coming up around the corner then a little straight wh ere they could get on the gas . First came the classic F1 cars followed by the modern F1 cars,sports cars and the supercars . I wondered up the the rally paddock which was a trek but was well worth it . The paddock was full with everything from early Saabs , Escorts and lots of Group B car porn , I was in heaven . I spent a hour or so hanging around the rally track watching them go by trying to get a decent photo of the Stratos (which was the best sounding car of the day IMO) then I caught one of the free tractor trailer shuttles down the hill . The tractor only went half way down the hill so I made my why to the house by foot . Outside the house was a collection of early Alfa Romeos ranging from the 30s to the late 70's . My favourite cars of the show were the various concept and show cars built on the 33 race car outside the house but there were some other really nice cars down in the supercar and cathedral paddocks . There were some other not so nice cars as well.........someone thought it would be a good idea to turn his Bugatti Veyron into a chrome...thing or the fellow who bought along his black can-am car/rubbish batmobile reject . Anyhow after the day was done it was time to a ride home . The roads around the Goodwood Estate are typical of the English country side , narrow and lined with trees there wasn't a decent spot to hitch from outside so I had to walk for half an hour before I came to a decent clearing and could use my sign . When planning to hitch from goodwood I failed to take into account the type of people who would be going to the event in cars which was mainly upper class folk who all wear the same shirt,the same pants and the same type of shoes . Needless the majority of the "ruling" class drove large Teutonic death wagons and confirmed a long held belief of mine that anyone(well 95%) driving one of these machines are wankers. However I didn't have to wait long and I hitched a ride with Luke from London who was driving a Seat hatchback of somekind . He was a top man and was good company on the way back to London and it turns out he is the only man in the south of England who prefers Rugby League to Rugby Union which completely changed the my opinion of Seat drivers . Now I see them for the smart savvy customers that they are , why pay Audi or VW money when you get the same stuff for Seat money , simples ! . At any rate we made it back up to London talking about cars,football and league and he dropped me off a minutes walk away from the tube station . So all and all it was a great day with lots to look at and if you are thinking of going next year it is worth the money if you are into cars , I haven't seen anything else like it and doubt I ever will