Carfest Opiniões 

We've been going to Car Fest for many, many years, but after the last one at Silverstone, it will be our last..... whilst it is at Silverstone anyway.

The distance from the campsite to the main event is ridiculous. It might be fine for people going to Silverstone to watch racing for the day, but for families with young children and with trolleys packed with stuff for the day, it is ridiculous.

At every festival we go to, we always go back to the tent late afternoon to change for the evening and get something to eat, but with the camping being a 50-minute walk away from the arena, that made it untenable. I do not go to a festival to spend over 3 hours walking per day just to get from the tent to the event. It's mindless.

On top of the camping being stupidly far away, the overall festival had lost its family feeling. There's something about it being on tarmac that was just off-putting, and even though there was apparently more there, the way it was spread out over such a large area, it felt like there was less. The signage was diabolical, and on the Friday night, going back to the camping, it actually felt unsafe. No one knew where they were going and at points, people were so squashed in dark, unlit areas. It felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

And one thing I can't get my head around is for a festival that is bigger than before, why did you only have one stage compared to your usual two, and fewer acts than you normally have?

We have always loved Carfest, and it has always been the festival we look forward to going to the most. Therefore, my hope is that the organisers dont dismiss all the negative reviews as just coming from whinging people, but as useful feedback for how to make it better in future. I appreciate it must be difficult finding suitable sites to house Carfest. I definitely understand why Silverstone was initially chosen, but after this experience, it's clear to me it is absolutely the wrong venue. If there is an opportunity to go back to Overton, I think the organisers should take it

The move to Silverstone has unfortunately been a real step backwards for CarFest. It took us 45 minutes to walk to and from the campsite over rough terrain. The kids’ zone was placed far away on the other side of the track and we then had to wait for racing to stop before we could return creating an unmanaged rush of people trying to get back to the main site. This didn’t feel safe or family friendly.
We also couldn’t see any of the star talks because they are held in a tiny tent, and once people get seats they understandably stay there all day. Removing the haybale arena talks has taken away one of the most inclusive and joyful parts of CarFest — everyone used to have the chance to see a celebrity talk, not just the lucky few.
The number of artists has noticeably reduced, presumably to save money and using fillers such as the local scout group meant huge crowds all heading to the toilets at the same time, creating crowd pressures.
We still made the best of it — shout‑out to Away Resorts for the incredible children’s activities, we danced our hearts out to the brilliant Rick Parfitt Jnr, became fans of Jessie J and we met lovely people as always.
But CarFest has changed. It’s become too commercial, and Silverstone simply doesn’t work as a venue. Please bring back the unique, family‑friendly festival that used to fill us with joy.

First and last Carfest !!

No cars or very few anyway
Long walks to enter and exit
Event staff useless
Extortionate prices
Toilets poor - ok its a festival
Saturday mainstay left before end
Massive area but to squashed in
Old Silverstone classic much better
£100 day ticket !!
Poor, poor, poor

We are a family of 4 with kids 8-11 and camped for the whole weekend.
Everyone enjoyed them selfs and had a great weekend even though the weather was terrible.
The food was great, lots of different vans and good tasting all expected prices.
Drink wise at the bars the selection was limited. I drink cider and could only get inches or strong bow black which I got pretty sick of. It would have been nice to have some selection of beers and ales but each bar sold the same drinks.

Music wise there was some big names but all a little same same. I know this is a family friendly festival who over the age of 90 wants to listen to Tom jones?
Nick parfait jr was great so was GokWan Sophie Else, Jessie J, SugarBabes and a few others.
You need more dance music this is what people want… to be able to dance.
Don’t spent all the money of big names that no one cares about get some covers and some good DJs. So everyone can have a dance and sing a long.
The site layout was terrible. For anyone that isn’t use to walking half a marathon every day. Lucky I’m pretty fit.
45 mins walk from the camp site is a joke and spoilt the weekend really. You could not go back to the camp site without wasting 1 and half hours.
Put on a free bus service FFS.
Then once you’re in you have another 45 walk to get the kids section , why is this at the far end?
Car wise the shows were good but due to the size it was always hard to catch them,
There should be screens everywhere but they are limited.
I only saw 1 show the whole weekend.

It certainly kept me fit, I clocked up 36 miles walking over the whole weekend.

I’m going to get tickets after the line up comes out. The music was disappointing. I hope to see better next year.
Hopefully they can sort out the walking.

If you’re thinking of booking a ticket do it.

Whilst there were some highlights during the day- a lively Retrofest music stage, great talks in The Author's tent, Mr Motivator and good music on the main stage - for tickets costing £108 each for a day ticket at a car oriented location there were many things worse than when it was held at Laverstoke Park Farm. After a long walk from the day carpark we were forced to go through the Kidzone (with no kids) followed by a 20 minute wait to get over the track to the rest of the festival. We saw some cars from the Grandstand before crossing but that was the only place we could see them from. The maps had no 'you are here' on them and it was hard to work out where the 'zones' were. Catalogues were an extra charge! There were insufficient areas beneath tents to keep dry or see the people being interviewed. Tom Jones came on after 10pm. Too late really for a family festival. Many left! Instead of starting with his lively songs he began with sad ballards about being old and achey! In our 60's and feeling old and achey we left part way through Tom's performance as we knew we had to face the 1hr walk back to the car in the rain! There were no signs or marshals outside the arena and we (and others) were left in the dark and wet trying to find the car park. Inside the arena several groups of 6 marshals stood around talking! We fortunately eventually found our car by walking down the pavement next to the road but we won't be returning to Carfest unless there is a shuttle bus service outside and a far better layout inside the festival to watch the cars easily and get to the different zones.

We are not folk to echo other reviews and having joyeously attended Carfest South events previously we were astounded at the difference between this and our previous experiences. The list is endless, poor signage, no screens showing upcoming acts, main stage empty for most of the day (Saturday for us) very few venue maps, poor selection of exhibitors (probs down to high charges) we just felt very let down. We wandered out very dispondently before Sir Tom finished his act, with only two highlights of the day- one meeting Santa (sad I know) and the other meeting a whole bunch of like minded folks from Essex sat close by us at the main stage. We paid well in excess of £100 each for a day ticket and in all honesty we have had better festival experiences for half the price. I accept the fact it was largely a charity event but really- not even a free programme on entry?

100% will not be returning

I won’t labour what most are saying about the distances involved walking around this iconic track, the lack of car activity and the extortionate prices… £9 for a samosa - seriously!?!?!

What frustrates me the most, toilets, mud, hessian on fencing right beside the track so you cannot view the cars during the seldom times they’re doing demonstration laps.

The line up - ok Sir Tom was epic - but the line up is getting worse and worse - bring back the big names, the crowd pleasers - it says something when Rick Parfitt Jnr is a highlight of the main stage (fair play to him… but come on)…

Costs are extortionate, we are in an economic dip, cost of living crisis and yet you are forced to pay silly prices for beverage, food and so on…

The whole model needs a refresh - rethink the venue or get temporary access bridges installed.

We left seriously questioning if we would go again and we have been for many years previously… great cause but underwhelming this year for such a great site.

I personally felt like the extreme walking distance is a scam to keep you at the Arena and spend at extortionate vendors who are charged a high rate by the venue as I heard,

But we there was a potential for so muuuch fun as there was so much to do, and little quirks here and there but the walks were just unnatural and ruined most of it for us and the kids, honestly.

Shame though, we must have a really good think to see if we want to come back.

Having really enjoyed The Classic in previous years, the CarFest 2026 was unfortunately a real disappointment for us. What had previously felt like a relaxed, chilled and spacious family festival now felt cramped, awkward and rather disjointed.

For an event with cars at its heart, the number of cars available to view felt surprisingly minimal, and the racing seemed almost like a side-feature rather than one of the main attractions. The overall layout and flow of the site also didn’t work particularly well. The larger children’s area was quite a distance from the main stages, food and shopping areas, which made the whole event feel disconnected rather than somewhere you could easily wander around and enjoy.

We also noticed a significant increase in large national charities. Supporting charities is of course a hugely positive part of CarFest, but in previous years at the Classic there seemed to be a much better balance between local and national organisations, which gave the event a stronger sense of community.

The amount of space dedicated to VIP areas was also disappointing, particularly when general admission tickets were around £100. Add to that a paid-access toilet block — requiring a wristband, otherwise you were left using the portaloos — and it did leave general ticket holders feeling rather like they were in the “cheap seats”, despite having paid a substantial amount to attend.

Some of the entertainment areas simply didn’t seem large enough for the crowds. We couldn’t get anywhere near the tent to see Lee Mack because it was completely packed, and the cooking area had a similar problem.

The stalls were another noticeable change. There seemed to be far fewer of them, with much less of the craft, creativity and interesting independent shopping we remembered from previous years. Instead, there was more generic festival merchandise and a number of quite pushy sales stands promoting expensive packages, which changed the atmosphere considerably.

The main stage area was also incredibly congested. People had understandably arrived early and staked out areas with chairs and large tarpaulins towards the front, but this meant huge amounts of prime viewing space were effectively unavailable for the rest of the day, leaving many people with little option other than standing behind them.

Overall, the biggest disappointment was that CarFest rather than the Classic seems to have lost some of the relaxed, spacious and slightly quirky atmosphere that made it so enjoyable in previous years. It felt much more commercialised, more divided between VIP and general admission, and considerably more crowded.

We have had some brilliant experiences at the Classic in the past, which is probably why this year felt like such a let-down. Hopefully future events can recapture some of the charm, community feel and relaxed atmosphere that made us want to return in the first place.

To end on a positive note, Tom Jones was absolutely superb and well worth waiting for, despite the delayed start. Rick Parfitt Jr was outstanding and a real highlight of the day.

We camped close (15 minutes walk) from Gate 5, which was promoted as a great alternative to the main gate (3 or so miles off).
When you get to Gate 5, you have to walk another mile or more (25 mins - with kids) to get to the bridge. Staff can cut through at Gate 5, apparently - that's what we were told). Lucky them.
Getting out anywhere near the end of the night was impossible due to a very small orifice. We missed half of TJ because my daughter didn't want to go through the same crush as we had the night before.
We walked around Sunday, but skipped the acts because of the awful logistics. I really wanted to see Niles R, but everyone was so pissed off with CarFest by then that we left. Incidentally, halfway back (between Gates 9 and 5 there are toilets. This time locked, which the staff shouted out, amid derisive laughter). We will never come to CarFest again - great acts, high anxiety everywhere else.

This was the most poorly organised event i have ever been to,treatment and support in the “accessible’ area was basically appalling,over three days we estimate that we waited in excess of 7 hours combined just for a shuttle to the arena fields,toilet
/shower facilities were just shocking, queueing all the time. We were literally a 5 minute walk over uneven surfaces just to reach the toilets. However,once in the event fields,people couldn't do enough for you as long as you were spending copious amounts of money for the privilege. The acts/cars and displays on show were awesome but the whole experience was basically very p**s poor,and thats being kind.

This is the 4th time I attended the festival with my 2 children and we have always really enjoyed it but this year at Silverstone the layout of the venue was really disappointing. It was a 2.5k slow walk on uneven ground with the trolley to get to the venue from the campsite so this is now a tricky festival if you have children, are unfit or have mobility problems. Did nobody think through what the experience would be like for people to get from the campsite to the venue???
The kids zone was weirdly hard to find and situated outside the circuit so there was a long wait to get across to and from - so we only ventured there on one day. The entry/exit to this was overcrowded with pinch points and crowds moving in 2 directions.
The main arena had a big pinch point by the main bar - my friend was stuck in what she referred to as a 'crush' for 15 mins on Sat night. The vendors I spoke to are also annoyed with the lack of transfers to the venue.

On the plus side the posh loos are amazing!! Staff were fun and super helpful. Also the actual campsite and facilities are brilliant.

CARfest but hardly any cars
More food vans than cars . Hounded by charity's .. there was no more than 100 classic cars . After 5 hours we did the whole show apart from the music
Won't be going again
Bring back the silverstone classic show

Just had a wonderful 2 days at carfest. Had daily parking tickets. Easy to park. We didn't have any problems with signage.
Only one small complaint. Times for main stage changed on Sunday. Announcements over the tannoy would have been helpful as I had some to see the Proclaimers and nearly missed the show ad it started early.

This is the 3rd time at car fest having attended at lavistoke Park and wow what a nose dive. Firstly the signage on approach to silverstone for day visitors was awful. We missed the turning and ended up being shouted at by two old dears in high viz just because we dared to ask where the entrance was. The star fest stage was poor. Too many people trying to get in to see brilliant people like Lee mack but you couldn't hear them ( why didn't they use the main stage) the biggest disappointments were most of car displays. The seating seemed so detached and distant from the cars it felt like car fest was more like general fest. Shame as you felt closer to the cars at lavistoke Park and there seemed to be a better variety of cars on show. At silverstone it almost felt as the cars were secondary to the abundance of non car related stalls and activities. In the grandstand you felt far too removed from the car events and couldnt hear any of the commentary most of the time. I don't think silverstone is the right venue. Assuming that it's now a combined single event and not split North and South it has just got too big.

I went to car fest as a first timer and an open mind, I didn’t want to use previous experiences of other motor events to cloud my judgement or experience.

On the motoring side, I found the lack of moving car action quite confusing, repeating the drift show was a little peculiar as it’s pretty much a one and done thing but not only that the commentators seemed dis interested and didn’t have much to say about the actual cars on track.

Most frustrating too was the fact that the 530 session was scheduled for an hour - it finished after 30 minutes (much the same as the other earlier schedule)

Why have a car festival at Silverstone with such little on track action ? It doesn’t make sense and is just a little, odd I count only 3 hours of track usage between opening at 10am and the actual finish of track use at 6pm

Given the cost, for 3 hours of sporadic track usage, repeated doesn’t feel like value for money especially when compared to other events with track action and can balance between track and off track exceptially well

Our view today! A tent! I thought they weren't allowed???

Not the right location for this. Bigger and better was anticipated but far from it. It was to big! Far to spread out, we were camping which was overpriced considering the poor facilities. Showers were cold. It was £15 a night over the road on another field. You were forced to lug all your camping stuff across 3 fields as the cars were not allowed in even to unload. I felt sorry for anyone who didnt have a trolley. We made 3 seperate trips with kids in tow transferring our stuff from the car. This ruined the camping side for us.
They had the cheak to charge for transferring you kit via a golf cart.
Regarding the cars and music, again far to spread out and a half hour walk back to the camping site. It made the whole weekend hard work rather than enjoyable.

Fantastic venue. Very well organised. Have had an amazing time. Location is great with ample camping facilities around the close vicinity.

Carfest 2026

Praise
I would like to praise Chris Evans and his team of people for what was a brilliant Carfest in 2022. It was a fabulous day; a huge variety of interesting cars, great music, lots of cooking and many attractions in a beautiful venue in Laverstoke Park Farm.

So, my wife and I were really looking forward to Carfest 2026. I will be as objective as I can be, but I feel obliged to write the following today:

Overview
* Tickets were expensive, but justifiable if we were to have a good day. Was looking forward to it.
*Long walk from car park. Not great for families.
*Car park signage was non-existent as far as I could see.
*One sign for Carfest was in yellow, but the Carfest area on the map was grey
*Got a wristband, but no leaflet with a map showing who's on and when and where. Had to pay an extra £20 for this with a programme. This should be free. (We paid £121 each to enjoy the day).
*Silverstone is necessarily fenced off everywhere. Good for motorsport safety, but horrendous when trying to enjoy a festival experience.
*Axe throwing and archery was fun!
*I tried to access some toilets. Was asked to show my wristband. I had the wrong one and was turned away. So, the £121 did not get you a free use of a toilet. This situation both took the piss and wouldn't take the piss at the same moment.
*Map had no “You Are Here” sign on it. This became a frequent “Crystal Maze” moment throughout the day when you are trying to get anywhere.
*Was barred from Waterstones due to a book signing...with three people in the tent. So didn't look at or buy any books.
*Missed cooking event as could not access the interior of the track, as track was closed and no bridges available to cross over.
Cars
*Only saw some static display of a few nice cars and some well looked after everyman cars.
*Did not get to see any moving cars other than briefly on a screen, as could not get to them in time, as they were only on a small section of track. There are fences, people, gates, camps and various obstacles between me and the cars.
This is not a festival venue.
*Saw the last display of cars at 5pm. A man on his own asked me if any cars were due on track, as he didn't know and was simply hoping that some would emerge.
*Did not see the Audi stand, as could not get to it in time. I was there for 6 hours.
Did not see the drift cars, the pits or anything else. I had come primarily to see cars.
*I now know that I can go, for example, to Donnington in a few weeks and see cars around the track for two days for a total of £39. Guess where I may be on that weekend?
Charity
*I looked up what proportion of the monies taken at the gate are being given to charities. Apparently, it is 10%. So my question is, are the sponsors and partners of this event giving money towards it, or taking money from it?
Families are coming here with the thought that they are providing cash to much needed causes. What is the truth of this?

Food
My wife came to Carfest primarily to see the making of food, to learn how it is done well and what ingredients the food is made up of. She said she never saw a view of the food, only the outside of the pans, the chefs cooking it and the presenters asking questions. There was no view of the food itself as it was being cooked. She was able to see the food being made in 2022. This is what she came to see. The people on view are secondary to this to her.

Summary
*As I say, I do want to be both fair and objective in this critique and not just rant because I can.
*I do want to see charities praised and encouraged and understand that there are people being enabled and supported by this charitable endeavour. This is obviously admirable. However, the corporate element of the venue and sponsors, along with the high price for not the best return means that it feels that money is being squeezed out of people with the least effort in actually organising the day. This is not a good look for your corporate sponsors!

Most Importantly
*Silverstone may be said to be the “Heart of British Motorsport”. It is not said to be the “Heart of the British Festival Experience”.
*It does not work as a festival venue. Please let this fact sink in.
Why? Because many people were leaving early due to the great limitations of the venue.

Remedy
*These issues are not difficult to remedy:
Put Carfest back to the venue it has been at in years past in Laverstoke Park Farm.
Finally:(Got there in the end!!!!)
*Silverstone is a motor racing circuit.
*If Silverstone is used for Carfest next year, I will not be going.

Please take this on board. I know that I am not alone in this feeling.
Do you want our patronage or not?

I am sad that I have to write this, but I am sure you can grasp my hope that future Carfest events are really successful. Once again, Chris Evans is a hugely talented and thoroughly impressive and altruistic man and my only hope is that the Real Carfest returns.

Yours Sincerely