Llandow

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

Llandow is built on the old RAF Llandow airfield, a Spitfire base in the war, about 15 miles west of Cardiff. Local farmer Jack Evans bought part of the site in 1961 and, with the South Wales Automobile Club, linked the runways into a one-mile lap. Graham Hill opened it in 1963. Roger Clark, Jody Scheckter and Andy Rouse all raced here before the track licence went in 1977. The Evans family later resurfaced and reshaped it, got the Sprint licence back in 2001, and still own and run it today.

The lap is 1,450 metres long and 9 metres wide, so it's small, flat and easy to learn. That makes it a good first track day for South Wales and the West Country. The family runs its own car days with a capped number of cars, and there's tuition on hand. There's a 105dB limit, a café and a proper hard-standing paddock. It suits hot hatches and small sports cars better than anything with huge power.

A lap of Llandow

Layout: Full Circuit, 1.450 km (0.90 miles)

Llandow runs clockwise on track days, and the corners don't have well-known names, so most people just describe them by what they are. The lap mixes runway and perimeter road. That means flat tarmac, few braking markers and corners that are wider than they look. Spend your first session picking out your references, because once you've got them it's a quick circuit to learn.

The circuit itself describes the corners as technical, with left- and right-hand bends. The key ones are a single 90-degree left, a few fast right-handers and a natural left-right chicane about halfway round. The chicane is where newcomers lose the most time. People brake far too early for it. The regulars' advice is to carry speed in and straighten it out as much as the kerbs and track limits allow, rather than treating it as two separate corners.

After that you're onto the back straight, which has a kink in it. In a typical track day car it's fourth gear with a small lift rather than a stab of the brakes. If you get it right, you can stay in fourth through the next two bends, feeding in as much throttle as the car will take, before the home straight. Be smooth here. A big lift mid-corner will unsettle the rear, and there's not much room on a 9-metre-wide track.

On the lower part of the lap the gains come from braking a little later and getting on the power earlier between the corners. There's a run-off area that people call the Bus Stop, which is also where cars gather if the red flag comes out. Overtaking is only allowed on the straights or on corner exits, so it's a lap for being tidy rather than heroic.

Track day tips

• The 105dB limit is measured at 0.5m and 45 degrees. Loud exhausts will need a quieter silencer.
• Don't brake too early for the chicane halfway round. Straight-lining it is where most of the time is.
• The back-straight kink is a lift, not a brake, in most cars. Build up to it before trying it flat.
• Only one car per driver is allowed each day, and passengers must be booked and paid for in advance.
• Timing gear isn't allowed and footage is for personal use only, so leave the lap timer app off.
• The circuit isn't running its own bike track days at the moment, so check for car dates or third-party events before booking.

Getting there

Llandow is about 4 miles south-south-west of Cowbridge, on the B4270, at CF71 7PB. From the M4, leave at junction 33 onto the A4232 south, then take the A48 west at Culverhouse Cross and follow the brown signs. The run from Cardiff is easy. The nearest railway station is Pencoed, about 15 minutes away by taxi. Cardiff Airport at Rhoose is close by if you're flying in. Cowbridge has pubs and hotels for an overnight stay.