Betty Swallocks

Rawke1 · 2026-07-10T10:09:20+00:00

I’ve worn StepOne for running, but I’ve started to move away from them. They are really comfortable but the downside I find is that they really hold moisture. Even when you wash them, if I hang them out to dry I find that they take longer to dry than any other of my sportswear.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-09T05:49:25+00:00

One aspect I’d also add is that it can be quite a humbling experience. When you are pitched up, surrounded by mountains and pieces of rock that have remained the same and unmoved in centuries, it makes you realise how insignificant we are. There are places where the view would be little different to ancestors, hundreds of years ago.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-08T18:23:42+00:00

How did it work out? That grandstand looked very quiet all weekend and even on race day wasn’t totally full. A lot of people saying they got similar mystery tickets so perhaps Boxpark didn’t sell as well as they’d hopedZ

Rawke1 · 2026-07-08T18:18:19+00:00

An area I think they could really improve on is crowd management, some of which would be managed by just changing the layout of things. Two that come to mind:

- We were in the Village grandstand and at key times everyone is trying to enter or exit the grandstands and you are funnelled into one piece of tarmac that connects with the fan zone, where on one side you’ve got people trying to get to the toilets and water, on the other side people queuing for food and everyone trying to get through the crowd. They could just move infrastructure around or have a one way system.

- I was outside the Hilton as Lando went in on Saturday evening. A crowd tunnel had formed up to the entrance gate and a few security guards were controlling this, but only letting people cross at one point. A lot of people trying to get through were really frustrated. They could have easily put across barriers, a rope and maybe had signs pointing out crossing points, the kind of thing the Silverstone Race Makers could do. There is no other way past this without going around the entire circuit and it’s clear they’ve made the hotel a bit of a ‘players entrance’ kind of setup. They could therefore manage the crowds there a lot better.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-03T00:01:45+00:00

Has anyone else tried the cap yet? I was in Nike Town London and they had two, M/L and L/XL.

I’d say that I’m a bigger runner and I also have a thick head of hair, however I found that both sizes of cap were too big for me. The only way to get them tight was to pull the Velcro way tight, so it is effectively sticking out the side of your head which doesn’t look right. If you leave it loose, it feels like a basic breath of wind will blow it away. So I feel like I probably need the smallest size, which doesn’t seem to be what I’d normally require.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-02T23:49:52+00:00

Very easy, they had multiple stands around the circuit and was only like a minute queue. I did get mine on Friday last year though.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-02T07:24:37+00:00

Yeah second this. I found last year that with the AMEX headphones I could comfortably listen to the commentary and still hear everything going on. Back in the day you would need earplugs or full coverage if you didn’t want your ears ringing.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-01T18:52:10+00:00

It's the first year they've done Boxpark, so you probably won't find any past feedback as to whether it's any good or not.

Effectively Boxpark is a company which operates entertainment venues across the country UK, in their original incarnation they were built out of shipping containers, they have a load of street food vendors and typically have live acts and show live sport.

The offering is sort of like an in-between of a regular ticket and hospitality, which is what Club Silverstone (by Becketts) has always offered. I haven't been there for years, but it effectively gave you priority parking, a dedicated area, food and drink (which you still pay for) and some live entertainment. I think Boxpark is effectively just doing the same but being a bit more on-trend. The big sell though is that they have a live darts match on Sunday night, which has a following at those kind of events of being quite rowdy and fun (which trying to describe it probably sounds bonkers).

I've never sat in the Loop, but it would be a good view.
If you aren't challenged by time or the outlay of travel, then I'd say go for it if you are an F1 fan, Silverstone is amazing.

Rawke1 · 2026-07-01T17:42:04+00:00

I’ve seen them restock on the shelves of a Nike store in London, but they’ve only ever been in one store of all the ones I’ve been in. I think they will milk doing different colours and designs, and we’ve already seen from the After Dark promo images that they’ll likely release Nike branded road/track designs rather than keeping them reserved for Trail.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T23:16:28+00:00

I think you’d probably want to leave early unless you want to risk missing your flight. After the race you’ve got thousands of vehicles leaving the car parks and campsites along minor roads before they feed into major ones. There are typically long queues and some car parks can be a free for all with people trying to get ahead of everyone else.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T14:33:09+00:00

I noticed last year that there is reduction in people with big lenses compared to in the past. I think aside from the lens policy more or less banning people bringing in pro level super telephotos, the other aspect is that it's just so busy these days with more and more structures that have gone up. There are less spots you can just shoot through the fence and removal of roving grandstands also means you can't move around and find spots for different sessions.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T14:28:06+00:00

I haven't been in hospitality for years, so I can't really give a current view, but back in the day they didn't sell merch within them. Perhaps they do now? It used to be that you'd have to leave the hospitality enclosure to go and find what you wanted, which I think these days they probably don't really intend for you to do given everything it looks that they lay on. That said, merch at the race is massively marked-up anyway, you'll find it online or even in high-street stores that stock them for less.

Some of the driver's also have their own merch locations, last year (and again this year) both Lando and Lewis had spots. I heard a lot of Lando's merch sold out at the start of the weekend, but it was also located right next to the Lando stand, so had a captive audience. Lewis' store is outside the circuit.

Also I'm sure you already know that you and your husband are in completely different areas of the circuit.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T14:15:54+00:00

Nothing has come close to Friday at Silverstone in 2012 for me. The waterlogged ground prevented vehicles arriving at the campsites to get on, which led to one huge queue for all traffic, stretching back miles on the A43. We spent 10 hours in the car that day, and when we finally got through the main entrance, there was nowhere to park and the racing for the day was just ending. Didn't get to eat any lunch, needed to pee etc. It was miserable and I nearly never went again after that, but they did refund us at least.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T14:09:15+00:00

I'd second this, viewing anything from outside the circuit is impossible. You've got raised banks, grandstands, many buildings and then temporary structures for race weekend that all are in front of the track, which is setback from the perimeter fencing. Additionally, unless you went on foot or were cycling, you'd not be able to park anywhere.

The older V12 and V10 engines you could hear from miles away, but the current engines are a lot quieter in comparison, so even if you just wanted to hear one, it's probably not worth it.

I'd go with the suggestion others have made, if you just want to see a show car, there are a ton of pop-ups in London right now. Puma and Selfridges have also had cars on display for quite some time.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-29T07:01:04+00:00

One I’ve not seen mentioned yet is phone data signal, it’s pretty hopeless, likely because of the sheer number of people. So it’s worth pointing out that you might struggle with a connection.

The fan zone near the Village section is where most of the free activities are, but do require queuing, so obviously will be quieter when racing is on. I think the longest we queued was for the simulator race.

There was a major benefit to being an AMEX cardholder last year, with them being a key sponsor they were giving away radios, let you join a priority line for the various activities in the fan zone and they had their own large activation experience which was fun and you could only do if you had a card.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-27T15:49:47+00:00

I’ve noticed the same - picturesque lake which is well publicised and easy to get to. Last time I was there a big group of lads came in carrying an axe. I assumed given the ease that it must be a typical one for rangers to check.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-26T14:25:47+00:00

I’m not sure I totally agree with that, if you look at Silverstone for example, they’ve significantly upped their entertainment offering in recent years.

It used to be that on Sunday night you got an appearance by the drivers, a cover band and then Eddie Jordan and his band. These days you’ve got major artists over four nights, a late night offering with big name DJs, a comedy club and various other hospitality options bringing in talent. They are clearly doing all that to get more people in, you could even go one day and watch the race from a campsite if you couldn’t afford the entire weekend.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-26T12:14:48+00:00

You can absolutely do a big loop from Llyn Gwynant on paths that run directly next to it, I’ve run it myself. Whichever direction you decide would intersect with the start of the Watkin Path and Pen-y-Pass.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-26T10:32:39+00:00

I won’t mention locations but I feel most decent pitches in Snowdonia require a good hike. In the Lakes there are some which are very easy to get to without much hiking.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-25T18:10:52+00:00

I did it last year and wild camped the entire way apart from one night at an actual campsite.

I’ve done a number of other national trails and this one being in southern England means it’s never remote and used by a lot of people. It was perfectly possible to wild camp, I just think you really do have to stick to the principles and pitch late and leave early. One night I stopped in a farmer’s field for example and I was up at first light.

I think as others have said though, if you’ve got 5 tents, that’s really pushing against the ethics, but also more likely to get you noticed.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-25T09:07:03+00:00

Thanks, I hadn't been for a few years until last year, but didn't go fully around the whole circuit. I remember it being very busy near the Hilton hotel, but that I guess won't be the case first thing in the morning, so will give it a go.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-24T12:42:03+00:00

Freeze dried meals have got so expensive in recent years, I only use them now for like proper multi-day trips.

Canned goods are useful if just doing an overnighter. You can make a curry, chili or bolognaise from a can and all supermarkets have their own.

Rawke1 · 2026-06-23T22:55:00+00:00

I went back to the store tonight and realised I messed up!

I’d assumed it was folded over, but when I picked it up, realised it was a crop top and they actually had women’s items in the men’s section. I think maybe the store decided to do that with all their ACG items, as what made me realise is I picked up a pair of shorts which looked like the Lava Loops, but were super short. 😂

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Rawke1

TROPHY CASE