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Oulton Park grandstands
You can spectate most of the way around the Oulton Park circuit, plus you can pay for seating in one of the three grandstands. The grandstands at Oulton Park are Old Hall, Lodge and Knickerbrook. These are all located at bits of the track that are used for all three circuit layouts at Oulton Park. The circuit map below shows where these are around the track.
All of the grandstands at Oulton Park are uncovered, so you are completely open to the elements if you choose to sit in one of them.
See our article on Oulton Park parking and entrances for information on the best entrance gates and parking areas to use for each of the grandstands.
Old Hall grandstand
The Old Hall grandstand is on the outside of the circuit at the exit of the first corner, Old Hall. It’s pretty close to the catch fencing but high enough to peer over it. It’s adjacent to the Oulton Park camping area which borders the outside of the track along The Avenue and in to Cascades.
the view
The view from the Old Hall grandstand at Oulton covers the second half of the start finish straight, the entirety of Old Hall corner and the run down towards Dentons.
It has a perfect view of Old Hall corner which is the first turn on the track, and often the scene of some first lap action. You can just about see the start / finish line, and then lose the cars as they drop down over the right-hand crest at Dentons. You also have a great view of the second half of the pit lane and the pit lane exit.
The image below shows the areas of track which can be seen from Old Hall grandstand highlighted in pink.
The video below shows an example of the view from the Old Hall grandstand.
seating plan
Below is the seating plan for Old Hall grandstand at Oulton. The rows run from A to K and seat numbers go from 1 to 33. There is no row I (eye).
The further to the left of the grandstand you sit, as viewed on the seating plan, the better your view of the start / finish straight but the less you’ll see of the cars as they drop down in to Dentons.
Lodge grandstand
Lodge grandstand is on the outside of the circuit at the exit of Lodge corner. It’s close to the catch fencing but it’s set back a little way from the edge of the tarmac as there’s a large gravel trap here to slow the cars down if they out-brake themselves. It’s a prime spot for any last lap do-or-dive overtakes.
the view
From the Lodge grandstand you have a view almost the whole way down to Druids, but not quite. The cars wil lcome in to view just as they pass under the bridge. From there you can follow them the whole way along the straight as they come directly towards you in to Lodge.
Once they’ve apexed Lodge corner you can follow them all the way up to the top of Deer Leap. The cars or bikes will go out of sight just as they pass under the bridge around the left hander.
The image below shows the areas of the Oulton Park circuit that can be seen from the Lodge grandstand highlighted in pink.
The video below shows an example of the view from the Lodge grandstand.
seating plan
Below is the seating plan for Lodge grandstand at Oulton. The rows run from A to K and seat numbers go from 1 to 33. There is no row I (eye).
There’s not much to be gained by sitting in different areas of this grandstand, every seat gives a pretty consistent view.
Knickerbrook grandstand
The Knickerbrook grandstand is located on the outside of the circuit just before the entrance to Knickerbrook corner, adjacent to the Hislops chicane.
the view
Knickerbrook grandstand has the best view of any of the three grandstands at Oulton Park. Its location means you can see the cars as they run towards you along Hilltop, through the Hislops chicane, around Knickerbrook, and they just go out of sight as they pass under the bridge on Clay Hill. Plus you can see across the track to the entry, apex and exit of Cascades.
The image below shows the sections of track that can be seen from Knickerbrook highlighted in pink.
The video below shows an example of the view from the Knickerbrook grandstand.
seating plan
This is the biggest of the three grandstands at Oulton. Below is the seating plan, the rows run from A to K and seat numbers go from 1 to 39. There is no row I (eye).
what's the best grandstand at Oulton?
In my opinion, the best grandstand and best view at Oulton Park is Knickerbrook. This has by far the most circuit coverage, and the parts of the circuit that can be seen from here are often where some good action happens. The cars and bikes bunch up massively through Hislops chicane and often come in to contact, plus Cascades across the track regularly sees some high-speed slides and grassy off-track excursions.
Knickerbrook is usually the most expensive of the three grandstands. Being the one with the best view it is often more in demand.
how to book grandstand seats
For the headline events at Oulton Park such as the BSB, BTCC, British GT and Gold Cup grandstand seat tickets can, and should, be booked online in advance.
Head to the Oulton Park website and select the event you’d like to attend. Click to book tickets, and then go to Stage 2 of the booking process – Grandstand Seats. First select how many seats you’d like in which grandstand, add them to your basket and then you will be prompted to select your seat(s).
For the smaller club events you won’t be able to book grandstand seats online. Usually the grandstands are left open and are free to go and sit in during the race meeting.
other good spectator areas at Oulton Park
If you don’t want to sit in a grandstand there are a few other great spots to spectate during race day. Bear in mind that it can get very busy some of the best spots will fill up quickly on race day. At the BTCC in 2014 there were over 43,000 fans in attendance in to Oulton Park.
So get there early, bring your camping chairs and be prepared to move around a bit to find the best vantage point.
Below are a few of my favourite spots to watch from at Oulton.
Note: You cannot spectate around Shell Oils, the areas around this have been closed off to the public for a few years now.
Cascades / Hislops banking - infield
On the inside of the circuit between Cascades and Hislops there is a large bank that is a great spot to watch from. From here you can see the cars as they come through Dentons, drop down Cascades and run down towards Island Bend. Additionally you can see them as they come back towards you on the other side of the track, down from Hilltop and in to Hislops chicane. Depending how far around the banking you position yourself you can also see the cars as they head up Clay Hill.
You can get close to the track edge here as well, but there’s normally a reserved outdoor seating area in front of the Fogarty Moss centre, the Oulton Park hospitality area. This isn’t open to general admission ticket holders.
There’s usually a large number of trade and food stands on the inside of the circuit here for big events, plus you’re close to the paddock area. There are also normally some picnic benches on top of the hill.
For the BSB and the BTCC there is often a giant TV screen visible from here too, closer to the Cascades side of the track.
Knickerbrook - outfield
Another great spot is the banking on the outside of Knickerbrook corner. Giving views very similar to those you’d get from the grandstand here, this is a great spot to have a lot of coverage of the track. The viewing points run all the way along the outside of the straight from Hilltop, right around Knickerbrook up towards Clay Hill. Whilst next to Knickerbrook is a favourite spot, any of the areas along here will give good views of this section of track.
There’s often a number of food stalls and trade stands around the outside of the circuit here as well.
Druids - infield
If you want to be close to the action and get a sense of speed then you can check out the infield section of Druids. You can see Druids corner from here and pretty much nothing else, but if you’re at Knickerbrook anyway it’s only a short walk up Clay Hill, across the bridge and in to the woods on the inside of the track.
Druids is especially slippery in the rain, so might be even more worth checking out if the heavens open to see some of the cars sliding around.
