Oulton Park

Oulton Park is a motor-racing circuit on the site of the old Oulton Estate near Little Budworth in Cheshire. The estate once belonged to the Grey-Egerton family, whose gates and lodges still stand at the entrance. In the 1940s the grounds served as a US Army staging camp before D-Day, and American heavyweight champion Joe Louis boxed exhibition bouts there. After the war the land lay empty until the Mid-Cheshire Car Club created a track in 1953. The full circuit now measures 2.692 miles with steep climbs, blind crests and tight bends. The track is famous for its changing gradients and demanding corners such as Hill Top and Knickerbrook. Knickerbrook earned its name after a dynamite blast dislodged a courting couple’s underwear, leaving the brook half-named. Before safety changes it was a fast fifth-gear corner with little run-off, and several drivers died there. In 1991 a chicane was added to slow cars before the bend, and all marshalling posts were fitted with protective cages. Shorter layouts like the 1.660-mile Fosters Circuit are also used for testing and club events. Visitors walk or drive around the circuit and estate. The highest point is Hill Top, where the track dips and rises sharply. Paddock areas offer hard-standing for transporters and power points for teams. The old estate buildings and entrance gates remain, and the Deer Leap section recalls the wartime boxing ring. On race days the noise of engines echoes across the parkland, while the surrounding Cheshire countryside stays quiet.