Knockhill

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

Knockhill sits on a hillside in Fife, about six miles north of Dunfermline. It was put together from the service roads beside an old colliery railway, and opened in 1974. Derek Butcher took over in 1984 and turned it into Scotland's national motorsport centre, and it now hosts the BTCC and British Superbikes every year. The lap is only 2.039km, but there's about 200 feet of elevation change in that, so it never feels small.

It's also the only UK circuit licensed to run both ways round, and track days use both directions. Some days even run anti-clockwise in the morning and clockwise after lunch. There are plenty of car and bike days, including newcomer and hot hatch days, which makes it a good place for a first track day if you're in Scotland or the North of England. The blind crests take a few sessions to learn. The lap is short, so you'll get through plenty of laps, but the traffic builds up quickly on busy days.

A lap of Knockhill

Layout: International (clockwise), 2.039 km (1.27 miles)

This is the usual clockwise lap. Out of the pit lane you go left and down towards Duffus Dip, a fast right with a downhill approach and bumps over the brow before it. Touring cars arrive in fifth at around 120mph. Novices tend to charge in, lock up and run wide. Brake a touch earlier, keep it tidy and get back on the power sooner. Leslie's follows straight on, and then McIntyre's, a tight right where you'll drop down to second in most cars, so take care with wheelspin on the way out.

Butcher's is an off-camber left, and the road then climbs to a blind crest where the chicane sits. The chicane is a left-right flick that you commit to before you can see the far side. The quick drivers straight-line it as much as the kerbs allow, using the left-side kerb on the exit. Look where you're going rather than at the bonnet, because the crest hides everything.

Clark's is a long right onto the back straight. It's uphill and off-camber, and the entry is blind, so your eyes pull you in too early. Stay out wide on the way in, wait for it, and you won't run out of road on the exit. Running wide here costs you speed all the way down the Brabham Straight, which has the left kink at Hislop's in it. Hold the right-hand side for as long as you can before flicking left through Hislop's.

The lap ends at Taylor's, an uphill second-gear hairpin with a bumpy, worn entry. If you brake too hard into it, the rear will start to hop, especially on a bike. Turn in too early and you'll kill your exit. Brake hard in a straight line, go a little deeper than it looks, cut back to the apex, then unwind the steering and go flat over the crest onto the start straight.

Track day tips

• Check the direction before you go. Anti-clockwise starts with the hairpin and feels like a completely different track, and twin-track days run both.
• The 105dB limit is strictly enforced, so loud cars should get a noise check before travelling.
• There's no fuel for sale on site and no refuelling in the pit lane, so fill up on the way in.
• Helmet-mounted and hand-held cameras are banned on track days. Mount your camera securely inside the car.
• Duffus Dip is where most first-timers overcook it. Brake a little early and focus on the exit.
• Open-wheel and single-seater cars aren't allowed on Knockhill's own car days.

Getting there

Knockhill is on the A823 north of Dunfermline. Use KY12 9TF in the sat nav. From Edinburgh and the south, cross the Queensferry Crossing and leave the M90 at junction 4 (Kelty), or use junction 6 (Kinross) from the north. From the west, the Clackmannanshire Bridge and the A977 via Powmill is the usual route. The circuit says it's about 30 minutes from Edinburgh and 45 from Glasgow. There's no public transport to the gate, so a taxi is the only option. Edinburgh Airport is the nearest for anyone flying up, and Dunfermline has the closest hotels.