Abandoned air strips, places to learn or trial a car?

[pantherag]

I've been wondering recently if anyone knows of any abandoned strips or large flat areas (where you can reach ordinary road speeds, so not car parks) still open to be driven on. My parents have spoken of such places and they were definitely around in their youth, but I'm blown if I'd know where to find one nowadays. I'm guessing they're all closed down due to safety concerns and problems with fly tipping.

I'm not planning Top Gear style games, it's just I've been insured on a Civic (not a Type R ) which I'm going to be driving a friend from America around in, but insurance doesn't kick in until the day of her arrival and I'd like to at least try the car on something resembling a road before then (as learning curves go, driving a larger car than your current one, with far worse visibility, into Heathrow to pick someone up is a bit harsh). I'm in SW London but within a short drive of leafy Surrey and Hampshire where I know there are plenty of old strips still. I checked out Wisley airfield the other day, which is closed off but a semi-interesting place to see if you can manage to park anywhere. I know of Blackbushe which is host to the BCA centre and a small strip, but also appears on maps to have the large "X" shaped strip blocked off. Anyone driven on it?

Any ideas where to trial a car? Temporary/short term insurance simply isn't an option for someone my age (19).

[OllieWinchester]

Didn't someone write off a rented Ferrari 360 in a pretty spectacular way on the Blackbushe runway quite recently? I guess they may have tightened up access since then. I'd be really interested in somewhere like this too, again not for joyrider style stupidity, just somewhere I can approach the low speed limits of the car without anything to prang in to. I'm in Hampshire...

[mmm-five]

If you've got no insurance, how are you going to drive it to this 'open space' to test drive it?

If there's public access to this 'open space' then you need insurance as much as you do on the road.

[pantherag]

OllieWinchester said:

Didn't someone write off a rented Ferrari 360 in a pretty spectacular way on the Blackbushe runway quite recently? I guess they may have tightened up access since then. I'd be really interested in somewhere like this too, again not for joyrider style stupidity, just somewhere I can approach the low speed limits of the car without anything to prang in to. I'm in Hampshire...

Hmm wasn't aware of that, guess they probably have, how you manage to write off a car on a runway I don't know.. I might investigate at some point anyway.

RE: Insurance, is it legally required "off road" on privately owned property (albeit accessible by the public). More importantly, how much do the police care?

Seems a tad daft, on the one hand they're endlessly complaining about how young people drive and on the other they're effectively pricing them out of insurance and practicing driving in real world conditions.

[Gazado]

From what I recall, if it is private land you need permission from the land owner if that helps (or not!).

[mmm-five]

Can't you just change the start date of the insurance policy?

[thepawbroon]

Here's an idea.... join a motor club (£15 about) and enter an autosolo (£20 maybe?) and you can explore all the low speed limits you like....there's one near you soon

http://www.farnboroughdmc.org.uk/SUS2008repa.php

[Davey S2]

Andy Walsh at Carlimits.com runs driver training days at North Weald airfield where you use your own car.

[mmm-five]

You're all forgetting that he's not insured yet, thus he can't (legally) drive to any of these venues.

[Chris71]

mmm-five said:

You're all forgetting that he's not insured yet, thus he can't (legally) drive to any of these venues.

Trailer?

[tenohfive]

Chris71 said:

mmm-five said:

You're all forgetting that he's not insured yet, thus he can't (legally) drive to any of these venues.

Trailer?

Insured parent/spouse/sibling who is insured to get him there? Or is that too obvious?

[GetCarter]

Do a day with Don at Bruntingthorpe - you'll learn more about driving than you ever thought possible

http://www.donpalmer.co.uk/

[scooby type r]

I would be verry carefull of driving on any ground without the owners permition some lads where cought riding mx biks on the hill near us common land they where done for no insurace and fined £1000 this was not on a public highway so be carfull where you go

[jrampton]

You can drive into blackbushe by the car auctions, drive up and the guy just lifts the barrier, drive to the end of the road (past the carparks for the market) to the end and follow signs for Karting.

This is common land and not owned by the auctions / airport.