There are a number Silverstone public transport options that you can use to get to the circuit on race day.
This article provides all of the information you need including the nearest and best train stations to aim for, taxi and Uber options, local bus routes, direct coaches and free shuttle buses for the big race weekends.
Contents
How do you get to Silverstone without a car
Getting to Silverstone without a car will always require using the road network for the final part of the journey. The nearest train station to Silverstone circuit is around 15 miles away, so you will need to take a taxi or bus from there to get to the track.
For the big events like the F1 and MotoGP there are also direct coaches that run straight to the circuit from various towns, cities and airports around the country. See more on this below.
You can ride your bicycle to Silverstone but for the F1 you are not allowed to take in to the circuit, so you’ll have to leave it locked up outside.
If you are driving to the track, read our article on how to get to Silverstone by car for info on the best directions and how to avoid the traffic and one-way systems during the big race weekends. Also make sure you’re up to speed on the Silverstone parking details before heading there; you need to book parking in advance.
If you are camping at Silverstone for the weekend then most of the nearby campsites are only a short walk away from the circuit.
Check out our general admission tips for some advice on what to bring and where to go once at the circuit.
Silverstone nearest train stations
The 8 nearest train stations to Silverstone are:
- Northampton – 15 miles / 21 minutes
- Bicester North – 18 miles / 25 minutes
- Wolverton – 15 miles / 27 minutes
- Milton Keynes Central – 17 miles / 27 minutes
- Banbury – 18 miles / 28 minutes
- Kings Sutton – 18 miles / 28 minutes
- Heyford – 21 miles / 29 minutes
- Bletchley – 18 miles / 31 minutes
Of these stations the main ones are Northampton, Milton Keynes Central and Banbury. These will have the best Silverstone public transport connections with more readily available taxis and buses. See the next sections for more info.
The nearest train station to Silverstone as the crow flies is Wolverton. However due to its location away from the main A roads it isn’t the closest station to the circuit in journey time, nor does it have the best Silverstone public transport connections.
Northampton station is the shortest driving distance away from Silverstone circuit. On a good run it will take just over 20 minutes to get from the train station to the circuit. On a busy race day, however, that journey time is likely to be much more with heavy traffic around the circuit.
How to get from London to Silverstone by train
To get the train from London to Silverstone you should aim for Milton Keynes Central or Banbury. If you go to Northampton you will stop at Milton Keynes anyway. The extra journey time on the train from Milton Keynes to Northampton is around 25 minutes.
Additionally during the F1 there is planned to be a free Megabus shuttle from Milton Keynes station directly to the circuit for Silverstone Rail and Ride ticket holders. See more info below.
London Euston has direct trains to Milton Keynes Central that take around 50 minutes. At the time of publishing a return journey can be booked in advance for around £30 on the Sunday of the F1 weekend. Or if you find a super-off peak ticket like the one from Trainline below, you can get a return for £16! Prices will go up as the event draws closer so get booking.
How to get from Birmingham to Silverstone by train
To get the train to Silverstone from Birmingham you can aim for either Northampton or Milton Keynes Central. Trains depart from Birmingham New Street and go direct to both of these stations.
Despite being North of Milton Keynes, it’s not actually any quicker to get to Northampton. Both journeys take around 1 hour 10 minutes and cost about £25 for a return on the Sunday of the F1 weekend at the time of publishing this. Ticket prices will go up the closer we get to the event so booking well in advance is very much advised!
Silverstone Rail and Ride
Silverstone have previously offered a Rail and Ride service for the Sunday of the F1 weekend but they don’t seem to be doing it this year.
Silverstone shuttle bus
Silverstone offer a shuttle bus service from Milton Keynes Central, Northampton or Banbury train stations directly to the Silverstone circuit.
The first buses depart the stations at 6am and the last ones leave the circuit at 11pm. More info and booking can be found here.
Same day return prices per adult are:
- Thursday: £5
- Friday: £8
- Saturday: £12
- Sunday: £16
Local buses
Stagecoach run the local bus routes between the Northampton and Milton Keynes train stations and Silverstone circuit all three days across the weekend. These do not need to be booked in advance, the driver can be paid when you get on the bus.
National Express offer a number of services from around the country, info here.
Taxis to Silverstone
The three main train stations listed above that are nearest to Silverstone – Northampton, Milton Keynes Central and Banbury – all have taxi ranks outside them. See the images below. During normal hours of the day it’s likely that there will be taxis parked up in these ranks available to take you to Silverstone. On busy race weekends there might be a longer wait.
Booking your taxi in advance is a wise idea to make sure you’re not left standing around or fighting for the only available cab on the rank with some other keen race fans. Google local taxi companies and ask them for a price.
Getting an Uber to Silverstone
If you arrive at one of the three main train stations listed above you have options on Uber for getting to the circuit.
In Northampton, Uber uses the Local Cab feature. This is where the app connects you to drivers of a local cab company who can respond to your taxi requests. In Northampton the Uber Local Cab company is Amber Cars. It’s likely to be a minimum of around £45 from Northampton station to Silverstone circuit with Uber, and that is likely to be even more expensive on a big race weekend when demand is higher.
If you arrive at Milton Keynes Central train station Uber operates as normal. Uber taxis from Milton Keynes to Silverstone are likely to cost a minimum of £35 from the station to the circuit.
In Banbury both Uber and Uber Local Cab runs, meaning you have the choice of a normal Uber driver or a driver from one of the Local Cab firms – Royal Cars and Carriage Company – to fulfil you ride request. Uber prices from Banbury station to Silverstone Circuit are likely to be a minimum of around £35.
At the other nearby stations listed in the section above Ubers are harder to come by and you will probably have to wait much longer for one to arrive, if the app even reaches that far. Use one of the other Silverstone public transport options instead.
Is there a taxi rank at Silverstone?
There is no taxi rank at Silverstone. To leave Silverstone circuit at the end of the day you need to have pre-arranged your transport.
Pre-book your return taxi trip to take you away from the track at the end of the day. Uber doesn’t really reach Silverstone so don’t rely on that, plus mobile data connections can be unreliable here.
During the F1 and MotoGP weekends there is a dedicated taxi pick up / drop off area on the outside of the circuit, close to car park 25. But this gets incredibly busy at the end of the day, so you should arrange to meet your taxi driver a short walk away from the circuit. Silverstone village high street is a popular spot.
Most local cab companies will know the best places to avoid the traffic, so ask them where is best to meet at the time of booking.
Megabus directly to the circuit
During the F1 and MotoGP race weekends Megabus runs return coach journeys that go directly to the circuit from a number of major towns and cities around the country.
On the Sunday of the F1 race weekend the coaches depart from over 40 different places. These are as far afield as Cwmbran in Wales, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Norwich and everywhere in between. They also include Heathrown and Luton Airports.
The routes cover a huge portion of the country, see the image below for all of the pick-up locations and departure times.
The pickup locations on the days prior to the Sunday are reduced. Check this link for more info and bookings.
Megabus are planning to offer the same service for the MotoGP but details have not been fully announced yet. This link on the Megabus website will be updated nearer the time with more information.
This is a great way to use Silverstone public transport to get to the circuit and avoid the stress of driving through hours of traffic yourself.
Flying to Silverstone
Read our article on the nearest airports to Silverstone for a full guide on the easiest ways to fly in to the UK and get to the circuit.
Zoom Taxis – Silverstone. biggest local firm 01327765765
How do you get to Silverstone on Friday if you are taking the Euston train to Milton Keynes? I am only seeing timetables for shuttle busses on Saturday and Sunday. How much time should you plan between the train drop off and shuttle pick up? Do the shuttles typically run on time or do you need to buy an open ended ticket in case the bus is late due to traffic?
Hi Megan. Stagecoach offer buses from Milton Keynes station directly to the circuit. Use their journey planner and choose Silverstone Motor Racing Circuit as your destination. https://www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey
Alternatively you can pre-book a taxi from one of the local firms. There’s a number for Zoom Taxis in the comment above.
On the Silverstone website it shows the shuttle buses depart 15 minutes after the trains arrive at the station, so that is the minimum I’d plan to leave. https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/formula-1-british-grand-prix/getting-here
Keep on top of any train strikes going on for that weekend as well.
The buses are normally pretty good at leaving the station on time but their circuit arrival time can vary due to traffic.
Any shuttle bus going from Northampton??
Hi Norita. The Silvestone Park and Ride options from the M1 direction have bus pick up locations in either Northampton Town FC Stadium (Sixfields Stadium) or Towcester racecourse. More info on those options here: https://oversteer48.com/silverstone-parking/
Alternatively you could look at using one of the Megabus direct bus services shown on this page. Looks like the collection from Bedford might be the closest one to Northampton.
Hi will there be buses on the Sunday from Milton Keynes to the race circuit? Do they offer a return service?
Hi Sarah, Stagecoach operate the S1 bus service from Milton Keynes train station to the circuit all three days over the weekend, and offer a return service.
More info here: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/midlands/2023-f1-aramco-british-grand-prix
Timetable here: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/Midlands/Silverstone/2023/F1_2023_TIMETABLE.pdf
Hi, I need to drop off family for the Saturday of the F1 weekend. Where do I drop off?
If your family are able to walk a bit I’d suggest dropping them off in Silverstone Village, probably on the high street. From there it’s around a 25 minute walk to the main entrance but you will avoid some of the worst traffic trying to get close to the main entrance.
Where is best place to drop and pick someone up ?
Hi! Your post about GA attendance for Silverstone mentioned getting there at 6am to get a good spot, but it looks like none of these options would get you there by that time … is that correct? Does that mean most of the good spots would be taken by the time you’d arrive in GA after using say, MegaBus? And how bad is a ‘bad’ spot? I’m looking at attending with my dad next year for the first time.
Hi Adrienne. Public transport does make getting their super early more difficult. If you drive yourself and use one of the parking options then you can get there sooner.
‘Bad’ spot means that the best spots nearest the fences will be taken. If you arrive at any time after about 8am on the Sunday then you should just expect to do a bit more walking around to find a nice place to watch from, or be prepared to muscle your way through some of the crowds.
Hi Alex, what’s the best way to get back to London from Silverstone after the race on Sunday evening (quite late so you can still catch some of the festival)?
Hi Harry, how were you planning on getting there in the morning?
Hi Alex, I’ve booked a national express coach from London for the way there – I’ve checked and the last coach back to London leaves quite early though which would mean missing most of the festival. Happy to get the last train back from Milton Keynes instead but not sure about getting there from the circuit.
How far is the Uber drop off/pick up location from the Circuit?
There is no official taxi pick up / drop off point this year. You’re best bet would be to see if they can drop you off in nearby Silverstone Village and walk to the track, but it’ll be chaos trying to get one from there at the end of the day. Silverstone suggests getting one of their shuttle buses to a nearby train station and then getting a taxi to / from there.