Photographer’s Guide to Castle Combe Race Circuit
Report and images by Chris Pearson of CPe FOTO
Situated in the picturesque Wiltshire countryside, Castle Combe Race Circuit was originally an airfield opened in May 1941 which was operated by the Royal Air Force as fighter base for Polish airmen. It was decommissioned in 1948 and reopened as Castle Combe Race Circuit in 1950. During it’s time as a Race Circuit, Castle Combe has had some racing royalty grace the track such as Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Ayrton Senna, Tiff Needell and has been featured on various motoring shows such as Top Gear and Fifth Gear.
From this location you can get some great shots of the action coming towards you down the start/finish straight. Also some great panning shots from an elevated position can be fun from here.
Loads of angles and opportunities from here. This is quite a popular spectator location as this is the first major corner and is a hotspot for things getting a little wiggly!
There is a raised walkway down to The Esses and a great platform for getting shots of the entry to the chicane.
From here you cross a small bridge and down some steps to walk along past Old Paddock Bend and onto Tower Corner.
Some of my favourite shots have been made from here. You get to show different aspects as you have the squatted shot on the entry to Bobbies and the more stretched out images as the exit of Bobbies allows heavy acceleration.
The track steepens on the approach to Rocket – a tight left hand bend which occasionally catches out the unwary.
Looking at the Events page on the Castle Combe website while planning your visit is helpful to get the best day to suit you. Race days are normally around £10- £35 per person (2024) sometimes with a Paddock Pass included, for advance tickets its an extra £2.50 on the day.
If you are just looking to practice your Motorsport Photography, you can attend many of their track days and practice days free of charge and usually have most of the spectator space to yourself! You can view what events are on with this
link .
From this location you can get some great shots of the action coming towards you down the start/finish straight. Also some great panning shots from an elevated position can be fun from here.
Loads of angles and opportunities from here. This is quite a popular spectator location as this is the first major corner and is a hotspot for things getting a little wiggly!
You can get some great photos of the cars coming over Avon Rise, down to the apex of Quarry Corner, along the next straight and even to the entry of The Esses.
There is a raised walkway down to The Esses and a great platform for getting shots of the entry to the chicane.
From here you cross a small bridge and down some steps to walk along past Old Paddock Bend and onto Tower Corner. The fences are a little restrictive from here but if you situate yourself of the bank at the exit of Tower, some interesting shots can be made from here of the approach to Tower Corner all the way through to Bobbies.
Some of my favourite shots have been made from here. You get to show different aspects as you have the squatted shot on the entry to Bobbies and the more stretched out images as the exit of Bobbies allows heavy acceleration.
There is quite a high bank along the straight to Camp Corner with only a waist high fence so you can get some interesting high angle shots along the straight.
If you get to the actual corner you can get some good shots of the apex and also the action going away from you towards the Finish Line especially when the chequered flag is waving!
Chris Pearson of CPe FOTO has been published in motorsport magazines, newspapers and been front cover featured in the Official Olympus Magazine.
You can contact him via his website or social media.
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