RAF Westhampnett
RAF Westhampnett is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Westhampnett, just to the northeast of Chichester in West Sussex. Today it is better known as Goodwood Motor Circuit and the broader Goodwood Estate, a site of immense historical and cultural significance in British motorsport and aviation heritage. The aerodrome sits on land that has been connected with the Dukes of Richmond for centuries, and the transition from wartime airfield to peacetime racing circuit represents one of the most remarkable reinventions of any military site in the United Kingdom. The location draws enthusiasts of aviation history, motorsport fans, and heritage visitors in equal measure, making it one of the most layered and rewarding destinations in southern England.
The airfield was established in 1940 as a satellite station for RAF Tangmere, the famous sector airfield a few miles to the east. During the Battle of Britain and throughout the subsequent years of the Second World War, RAF Westhampnett played a critical operational role. It was home to numerous squadrons flying Hurricanes and Spitfires, and the airfield became particularly associated with the legendary Douglas Bader, who commanded 616 Squadron from here. The station sat on land belonging to the Goodwood Estate, owned by the Duke of Richmond, and this connection would prove decisive in shaping the site's postwar identity. Ground crew, pilots, and aircraft were a constant presence on the Sussex Downs during those intense years, and many of those who flew from Westhampnett did not survive the war.
After the RAF vacated the site in the late 1940s, Freddie March, the ninth Duke of Richmond, saw in the perimeter track of the old airfield the ideal circuit for motor racing. The Goodwood Motor Circuit opened in 1948 and quickly became one of the most celebrated racing venues in Britain, hosting Formula One races and attracting the greatest drivers of the postwar era, including Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, and Juan Manuel Fangio. The circuit closed to top-level racing in 1966, a decision taken partly on safety grounds as speeds had outgrown the course, but it was never demolished. It slept quietly for decades before being meticulously restored and relaunched in the 1990s under the stewardship of the current Duke of Richmond, who introduced the Revival meeting, a period-correct celebration of the circuit's golden age that has become one of the most beloved events in the motorsport calendar.
In person, the site has a remarkably atmospheric quality. The circuit itself is a flowing, undulating track that weaves through the estate's parkland, with chicanes and corners that carry the names and memories of racing history. The paddock and pit facilities at Revival events are dressed in period detail, and visitors are encouraged to attend in dress from the 1940s through 1960s, which gives the whole gathering an extraordinary sense of immersive nostalgia. Even outside event weekends, the gentle roll of the South Downs forms the backdrop to the circuit, and the proximity of Chichester Cathedral's spire, visible across the flat coastal plain, adds to the sense of deep rootedness in place. Aircraft still fly from the adjacent Goodwood Aerodrome, maintaining a living connection to the site's wartime past.
The surrounding landscape is quintessentially southern English. The estate is set on a gentle chalk ridge above the coastal plain, with the South Downs National Park rising to the north and sweeping farmland extending southward toward Chichester Harbour and the English Channel. The estate also contains Goodwood House, the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Richmond, which houses an outstanding art collection and is open to visitors on selected days. Nearby is the famous Goodwood Racecourse, one of England's finest horse racing venues, and the annual Festival of Speed held on the estate's hillclimb course draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer. The market city of Chichester, with its Roman walls, Norman cathedral, and Festival Theatre, is less than three miles to the southwest and provides excellent facilities for visitors.
Visiting the site works best if timed to coincide with one of the Goodwood events. The Festival of Speed in late June or early July, the Revival in September, and the Members' Meeting in the spring each offer different but equally compelling experiences. Outside event periods, Goodwood Aerodrome is open to pilots and aviation enthusiasts, and the circuit is sometimes used for private track days. The estate's grounds, farm shop, and café at the Goodwood Hotel make a visit worthwhile even without a major event. Access is straightforward by road from the A27 between Chichester and Arundel, and there is shuttle bus provision from Chichester during major events.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this place is the continuity it represents. The perimeter track on which Spitfires once taxied became the racing circuit on which the greatest postwar drivers competed, and now annually hosts some of the world's most valuable historic racing cars. Beneath the tarmac and the atmosphere of celebration lies a landscape soaked in the most intense period of Britain's twentieth century history. Several pilots who flew and died from Westhampnett are commemorated locally, and the Revival meeting holds a particular emotional resonance for those who understand what the airfield once meant. The fact that a working aerodrome still operates from the site means that light aircraft and occasional wartime survivors still fill the same sky that Bader's Spitfires once crossed, creating a continuity of use that is extraordinarily rare.