Barbon Hillclimb
Welcome to Barbon Hillclimb
The 2025 events have now taken place, but we shall be back on the hill on 14th June & 19th July 2025.
Read on to see what’s involved. And see our ‘How to Enter‘ page for more details for competitors.
Spectators: you can buy your Barbon admission tickets in advance and save!
Just scroll down this page to our section on Spectating
Look out for information and photos from our events on our Friends of Barbon Hillclimb Facebook page
Spectators are welcome to all Barbon Hillclimb events!
Andy Larton in his class winning Peugeot 106 in July 2016, photo courtesy of Mark Holmes Photography
Barbon Speed Hillclimb…. what is it?
Barbon Hillclimb is a relatively short but very quick Speed Hillclimb course just outside the village of Barbon, near Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria.
The new course record of 20.08 seconds set by Jos Goodyear in July 2015 makes Barbon one of the fastest Hillclimb courses in the UK. Jos set an average speed from a standing start to the flying finish of over 75mph, on a track not much wider than his car! Opened in 1950 the spectacular venue with views over the surrounding countryside may host one of the shortest Hillclimbs in the UK. Its 672m long course climbs 61m (200ft) on the side of Barbon Fell and is incredibly popular with drivers who enjoy the challenge and great atmosphere that the venue provides. Its 1960s charm is great for spectators too, the whole of the course is accessible for viewing and you also have full access to the paddock area where the cars (and drivers) “rest” between runs.
What’s it all about?
See MSUK’s video introduction What is a Hillclimb? .
It’s an opportunity for registered competitors to drive their cars as quickly as possible up the winding parkland estate road of Barbon Manor, the aim simply being to get from the bottom to the top in the shortest possible time. See Russell Thorp’s excellent in-car video filmed at Barbon, here.
Competitors: Want to have a go? You’ll have to have a car which could even be a completely standard road car, and you’ll need to join a motor club. Look at our page about our Aintree Sprints where there’s lots more information. Sprints & Hillclimbs are very similar and many competitors use the same cars for both disciplines.
See Motorsport TV’s excellent “Hillclimb Beginner” series of short films that should answer most questions about competing.
Competitors, see our How to Enter page for more info.
Jos Goodyear in his Track Record winning Raptor in July 2016, photo courtesy of Mark Holmes Photography
Want to see more events like this? For details of the exciting Sprints & Track Days on the historic motor racing circuit at Aintree click HEREThere are two days of competition on the hill each year, featuring cars ranging from road-going family saloons to powerful single-seat racing cars.
14th June & 19th July 2025
These popular annual events are qualifying rounds of several local & regional championships and attract many “Club” competitors to this challenging venue. There’ll be an excellent variety of cars including single-seat racing cars and some surprisingly powerful saloon and rally cars taking part too. All this and a fascinating selection of historic cars as well.
See our Calendar page for more details of the championships invited to this year’s meetings.
The determination of each competitor to set a new personal record on the hill has to be seen to be believed, so you can be sure to see many cars & drivers driving flat out as they compete for positions in their championships.
There are many photos of the Barbon Hillclimbs over the years on our Friends of Barbon Hillclimb page.
Click here for a taste of Barbon action on YouTube (but don’t forget to come back to our site from these links!)
Or click here for a great slideshow of Barbon Hillclimb scenes by Graham Edwards.
Russell Thorp’s video captures the atmosphere of our June 2018 event with an in-car video in his Renault 5GT Turbo.
How to find us:
From the M6, take the A65 East to Kirkby Lonsdale and turn left onto the A683 for exactly 3 miles before turning right to Barbon Village. Then follow the signs to the venue.
From South Yorkshire, take the A65 past Settle to Kirkby Lonsdale, turn right onto the A683 for 3 miles & then turn right again to Barbon village and follow the signs to the venue.
Using a sat nav? The nearest postcode is LA6 2LJ which will bring you right into the heart of Barbon Village.
For a Google map of the area, Click here
Competitors and Spectators have separate entrances to the venue, so please follow the appropriate direction signs!
In common with all UK motorsports events, Dogs are not allowed, even the best-behaved ones on the strongest of leads.
Competitors – How to enter:
Click HERE to go to the How To Enter page.
Camping for competitors is available on-site from 5 pm on Friday only. See the event regulations for details.
There are no hook-up or mains water facilities on-site for campers but portable toilets will be available. Nearby is the Barbon Inn serving excellent food, drink and accommodation.
Entries normally close 10 days before the event.
Barbon Paddock
The competitors’ paddock at Barbon is exactly that, a grass paddock, which we have substantially improved by installing additional land drains and new roadways. (The paddock roadways are not surfaces because we’re within the National Park and the venue has to remain a working hill farm.)
We are extremely grateful to the British Motorsport Trust for financial assistance towards the paddock improvements. The Trust has also made significant grants for partial resurfacing of the course over the past few years. For more information about the Trust, just click on the logo below.
Venue improvements aided by the British Motorsport Trust
Above – Barbon paddock (Photo Brian Taylor)
Above, Barbon Paddock (photo Ric O’Reilly)
Results:
The Results of all our events from 2000 to date, CLICK HERE.
Live times will be available on the day at www.timeteamlivetiming.co.uk
Club Displays:
Is your club interested in putting on a static display of members’ cars at our events?
If your club would be interested in bringing along a selection of vehicles (and qualify for a discount on admission), please contact us here.
Trevor Willis powers up the hill in his OMS, July 2016, photo courtesy of www.whitedogphotography.co.uk
Spectators
Spectators are vital to the future of the Barbon events. 100% of the income from tickets helps us maintain the course for future years.
Admission is fantastic value at just £10 per adult at the gate. Accompanied children under 16 get in free.
(We now accept most contactless debit & credit cards.)
Or buy your official e-tickets online now and pay only £8.50 per adult:-
www.ticketsource.co.uk/barbon-hill-climb
A percentage of the income from spectator admissions is donated to local charities who help us by providing volunteers to staff the gate for us. In 2024 we were delighted to donate £550 to Cancer Care (North Lancs and Lakes).
In common with all UK motorsport events, Dogs are not allowed in the spectator areas, not even well-behaved ones on the strongest of leads. Sorry!
The gate opens at 8am, car parking is free. You can wander around the paddock area to see the cars close up and talk to the drivers. The whole of the course is accessible to spectators. We recommend you wear stout footwear as, apart from the course itself, there are no surfaced areas. Being on the side of a hill (it wouldn’t be a Hillclimb if it wasn’t!), the walk right to the top can be challenging for some. The views from the top are well worth the effort though.
Disabled visitors are welcome, but the grass hillside terrain is not suitable for those with limited mobility or in wheelchairs. We can usually arrange special access for disabled visitors if you arrive early enough – don’t hesitate to contact us in advance for details.
Hot food & drink is available from the mobile catering unit in the main paddock
Event toilets are situated in the main paddock and various places on the hill.
Time displays at the start and finish show the time taken by cars as they complete the course, and live times are available at www.timeteamlivetiming.co.uk
Timetable: This is approximate and depends on weather conditions, the number of competitors, and the need to recover any cars that don’t reach the top!
Spectator gates open at 8 am
The first practice runs start at approx 9.15 am, followed immediately by the second practice or first competitive run.
We try to get the first competitive runs in before lunch; (lunch break is normally 45mins)
Competitive runs continue throughout the afternoon.
We aim to finish by 5 pm, with awards presented immediately afterwards.
We send the cars up the hill at roughly 30-second intervals, in batches of around 15 – 20 cars. We then bring each batch of cars back down the course before we let the next batch start. So there will be breaks in the competitive runs which also enable us to briefly open the spectator crossing points halfway up the hill to allow people to cross. You must only cross the course at the 2 designated crossing points, and only when allowed by the marshals. Please be patient if there’s a break and you are waiting. There will be a good reason for any delay and the marshals will let you cross as soon as it’s safe.
We hope you enjoy your visit to Barbon. If you have any questions about the day’s events, please ask.
(Barbon Park is an active hill farm for the rest of the year and home to sheep and cattle, so be aware that ground conditions are variable and may not suit everyone, particularly those with mobility issues. The times quoted are approximate and could be subject to weather and safety considerations.)
Spectacular Barbon – The view from the top. Photo Courtesy of Mark Newbold
Can you help us?
Motorsport can’t happen without volunteer marshals. Female or male, young or less so, we always want more!
Would you be interested in helping us run the events here or elsewhere?
We are particularly keen to welcome new or experienced volunteers. So if you’d like to help marshal the course, help at the start line or maybe in the paddock area, we’d be happy to hear from you. You don’t have to be a motor club member, and you don’t need a set of orange overalls (though it’s a good idea!). If you are inexperienced, we will always place you with our regular marshals to learn the ropes.
For more information about helping, without obligation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our chief marshal Paul H Smith by copying his email address into your mail service, just replace <at> with @ before sending. Chief Marshal: gphsmith<at>holtlane.com or see our Marshal’s page
Useful Links:-
The Official Barbon Hillclimb Facebook Page
Friends of Barbon Hillclimb Facebook Page
Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club
Liverpool Motor Club
Association of North Western Car Clubs
Association of Northern Car Clubs
Motorsport UK
Hillclimb Records at Hillclimbing.org
Local Information:-
The Barbon Inn – great food and accommodation
Cumbria Life Magazine
The Pheasant Inn, Casterton 6 mins from Barbon
Crooklands Hotel, just off the M6 – J36 Kendal
(Please mention Barbon Hillclimb when contacting local hotels)
The car events at Barbon are promoted by Barbon Hillclimb Ltd, a joint venture between Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club & Liverpool Motor Club. Any surplus from the events is used to maintain the venue for the future.
We support North West Blood Bikes (Lancashire & Lakes)
“A voluntary organisation that provides urgent support to the NHS in our region”
140,000 deliveries completed …….. Our Next Ride May Save a Life …….
NW Blood Bikes provides a Free, but professional voluntary out-of-hours transport service to our local NHS hospitals by carrying urgent and emergency blood, platelets, samples, donor breast milk, patient notes, theatre equipment, in fact, anything that is urgently required that can be carried by motorcycle, between hospitals.
They provide this service through the night, at weekends and on Bank Holidays enabling hospital funding to be better spent on patient care. You can help their volunteers by donating today at www.nwbb-lancs.org
To make a donation, or for more information, just click on their logo below.
North West Blood Bikes, Lancashire & Lakes, would like to thank everyone who donated to the charity again last year by adding £1 or more to their entry fee. Thanks to your generosity, NWBB has now received over £4000 from Barbon competitors to help keep the Blood Bikes on the road to serve the emergency needs of people in the North West.
We are also pleased to have supported CancerCare in North Lancashire & the Lake District by donating a proportion of the spectator income at each 2024 event.
Last updated 23/8/2024