please empty your brain below
Wowsa! Great post... like 3 posts in 1.

I find the Concorde to be somehow so ironic and weird - here it is in the museum, after all the commotion of being the heralded great new iconic jet of the future. I guess it was born for the museum - they had one in the museum here in Seattle too.

Luv those classy buses - somehow all the buses I ride are devoid of any class and they don't even make for a nice ride.

john | Homepage | 20.04.15 - 2:40 a.m. | #

Brooklands fact: The museum has its own I-Spy book, sold in the main shop. Spotting a Sinclair C5 scores 20 points.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 20.04.15 - 7:13 a.m. | #

No mention of the Barbara Cartland room, very pink. She was a 'go getter' in her youth, being involved in racing at Brooklands and gliding

Nick | 20.04.15 - 7:25 a.m. | #

We were lucky enough to visit Painshill just before Xmas last year. Truly, a bizarre place.

But they do up the Grotto when Father Christmas comes to visit and it looks (even more) amazing:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/6000/15884772059/in/photostream/lightbox/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/6000/16070161732/in/photostream/lightbox/

6000 | Homepage | 20.04.15 - 8:45 a.m. | #

Great blog, as always.

Don't think Stirling Moss drove post WWI with Malcolm Campbell! Stirling was only born in 1929 and started racing in 1948.

dg writes: You're right. Tweaked, thanks.

Don Petter | 20.04.15 - 9:51 a.m. | #

Opportunity to relate my favourite Stirling Moss story. It's probably true, but just as good if made-up. He was, allegedly, stopped by a policeman after a bit of overzealous driving - on the road, and asked the standard question in those days: "Who do you think your are, Stirling Moss?"

Well, I thought it was amusing.

Malcolm | 20.04.15 - 10:14 a.m. | #

Great post DG.
I got into the Painshill Park site in the late 1970s. It was leased by an angling club at the time. The grounds were very overgrown, and part was a confir plantation. Hamilton's various building follies were in a sad state of decay.

| 20.04.15 - 10:25 a.m. | #

Darn, as soon as I switched back to the main page after adding my comment last night, I saw the bit that said (Part 1) and realised I might've pre-empted part of today's instalment.
One possible surprise about Brooklands - the track - is that there are more remnants of it *outside* the current day site: go to GoogleMaps and find the local Tesco's, and there's another section of banking near enough facing the entrance.
A useful source of information on the area as a whole, including its development, and some of the lesser known 'old money' properties and estates, is the museum above the library in Weybridge.

RogerW | 20.04.15 - 11:02 a.m. | #

The borough museum above the library in Weybridge closed in 2014, apparently.

diamond geezer | 20.04.15 - 11:31 a.m. | #

There's a great sequence in one of the Poirot TV episodes where Captain Hastings goes to Brooklands to look at a car. It very realistically done and you get a good sense of what racing at Brooklands was like between the wars.

Anthony Finerty | 20.04.15 - 3:43 p.m. | #

I visited Brooklands for the first time this weekend - but on Saturday. A really enjoyable day out. We were there five hours (until closing) and could have easily spent much longer!

Sam | Homepage | 20.04.15 - 8:50 p.m. | #

It appears the Elmbridge museum has gone from Weybridge but is now located at the Civic Centre at Esher, though I haven't been able to check further as they're not open on Tuesdays. (Tel 01932 843573)

RogerW | 21.04.15 - 11:00 a.m. | #

And on days when Peter Hendy isn't driving an old bus, Brooklands Museum can still be reached on standard bus service 436 (Weybridge - Woking).

dg writes: Or you can walk, it's only about a mile from the station (if you can find the way in).

Ab | 21.04.15 - 1:53 p.m. | #











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