Whilst the Jaguar Festival took place on the Bicester Heritage Airfield, Nigel and I decided to take a stroll around the Bicester Heritage site buildings. We have been attending Scrambles (4 car related on site gatherings held every year - restrictions permitted!) as often as we can for several years, and over this time the number of restored and occupied buildings has grown at a prodigious rate, and continues to do so. Whilst many buildings have been restored and brought back into use through letting to (in the main) motoring related businesses, Bicester Heritage has also recently undertaken construction of new industrial units built in a sympathetic style to the existing units. It was good to see the new development, which blends in well. However, there is no physical sign yet of the proposed hotel development.
So the pictures accompanying this article are meant to illustrate a flavour of the Bicester Heritage site as it stands at the moment. Actually, relatively few attendees at the Jaguar Festival seemed to wander into the main site, it was very interesting for us to see the site ‘bare’ without the normal 7000 or so attendees plus their wonderful vehicles scattered here there and everywhere. It’s no wonder that Bicester Heritage is often used as the backdrop for period film sets.
Not everything is motoring related - there is a brewery (The Wriggly Monkey) whose owner is an F1 engineer in his day job, and there is also now a Gin manufacturer (they seem to be everywhere!). There’s a classic cycle business, and Mercedes keeps some of their recently retired F1 cars on site (if you’re lucky you may find them firing one up to amuse the crowds!). Car restoration specialists abound, as do trimmers, lubricant suppliers, an auction house and much, much more. Enjoy the pictures, and check out the next open event to experience it for yourself!
