England’s Sussex countryside is quaint and picturesque, the kind of place where you have to squint to see your neighbor across sprawling green pastures. Livestock and barns pepper the horizon, poking through a light layer of morning fog, and all is quiet. Well, usually. For 36 hours last weekend, the small Sussex town of Chichester, home of the Goodwood Estate, awoke each morning to the thunderous roar of three Merlin V12 engines as a trio of World War II-era Supermarine Spitfires roared past overhead, followed by the daylong wail of carbureted Ferrari, Jaguar, and AC Cobra motors at full tilt. Welcome to the Goodwood Revival, a three-day festival dedicated to celebrating the wonders of life in post-war Britain.

From 1948 to 1966 the Goodwood Motor Circuit hosted the period’s most celebrated drivers. Juan Manuel Fangio, Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, and Graham Hill – they all raced here. In 1998 The Duke of Richmond re-opened the track with a vision: create a motoring festival that recalls the estate’s golden era, with everyone dressing in the apparel of the era and arriving in – and racing – their period cars.

At the heart of it all is a particular brand of Englishness, one which declares that the only way to preserve something is to use it. England may have emerged from World War II on the side of the victors but the country was in a shambles: the nation had been devastated by German bombing campaigns, the country was bankrupt from the endless war efforts, and its empire was collapsing.

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Photographed by Cole Pennington

The unbreakable spirit of the English people, however, ultimately led to a rebuilt nation and decades of subsequent prosperity. The Goodwood Revival is all about celebrating this English resilience. Keep calm and carry on. For the English, using what they had was part of this resilience. And now, at the Goodwood Revival, cars, planes, clothes are all used in the manner in which they were intended. Nothing is too precious, not even multi-million dollar sports cars.

When I first attended the festival, it was these cars that monopolized my attention. Nowhere else on earth will you find a higher concentration of automotive legends – I’m talking Ferrari 250 GT SWBs, Jaguar D-Types, Porsche 904s, Ford GT40s, Aston Martin DB4GTs, all in one place. And classic cars are the only kind you will see: no modern cars –not even safety cars– are allowed on the grounds during the Revival. What’s more, many of these classics can be found with the tach buried in the red doing 160 miles per hour down the straights. It’s one thing to read about these machines in books, but it’s another experience entirely to see them moving at top speed, to hear the motor at redline, to smell the exhaust from the cat-less straight pipes, and to watch drivers twitch the steering wheel a couple of times every second just to keep the car on the track. There are no nannies here, and it’s not uncommon for drivers to lose it and put these priceless machines into a wall. It’s all part of the Goodwood Revival Experience.

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Photographed by Cole Pennington

But it’s not all about the cars . Over time, the festival has grown into a complete, whimsical facsimile of England from the late 1940s through 1960s with the inclusion of aircraft, motorcycles entertainment, costumes, and paid actors all lending an element of authenticity to the affair.

This was my fifth time attending the festival, and over the years I’ve learned that the best way to peel back the layers of the Goodwood Revival is to simply take it one step at a time. There’s so much going on that three days simply isn’t enough, so slow down and stop trying to take it all in at once. Beyond the perilous wheel-to-wheel racing, then, here are a few of my favorite parts of this event that, regrettably, I failed to fully appreciate when I first came to Chichester.

Period Aircraft

During World War II, the Goodwood Motor Circuit functioned as RAF Westhampnett. The site was positioned perfectly near the coast as an auxiliary landing site for Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes launched out of nearby RAF Tangmere. Now, during the Goodwood Revival, the site plays host to pre-1966 aircraft that are noteworthy and unusual. Each day, the show opens with a trio of Spitfires buzzing the showfield, setting the tone for the day. This year the static display included a number of aircraft you’d be hard pressed to find even in a museum, and showgoers can get up close to the aircraft in a way that’s not possible elsewhere. The Cessna 190/195 Businessliner stuck out, as it was the last radial-engine model the company made after the war. The largest plane in attendance was the Canadian Vickers Catalina PBY, a flying boat. Even though there were 3,305 built in period, very few remain flying today and seeing one is a rare treat. And, of course there were the usual fan favorites such as the P51D Mustang, the American counterpart to the ever-popular British Spitfire, both of which used the Merlin V12 powerplant (our morning alarm clocks during the Revival) during their production runs.

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Photographed by Cole Pennington

Open Paddocks

There’s a reason you can’t be in the paddocks during most race events: it’s a dangerous environment with a lot going on. Mechanics wrenching, race cars shuffling around, oils and fuels being replaced, and teams strategizing – for reasons both of safety and secrecy, race teams generally like to keep these matters separate from the spectators. But not at Goodwood. Here you can freely tour the paddocks during the races and watch the cars get prepped (and repaired) in real-time. During my first few Revival experiences I felt like an interloper in the paddock, wandering around where I wasn’t supposed to be. Watching Jenson Button climb into an E-Type a few feet away just feels surreal and a little…intimate.

Getting so close comes at a price, however. Every year I come back with oil splatters on my clothing from being in proximity to the cars when they fire up and spit out all sorts of fluids. The grease and grime on the period-correct mechanic suits isn’t for dramatic effect: all race preparations are happening right out in the open for spectators’ enjoyment.

Parking Lot

My rough calculations tell me that even if you took away the hundreds of cars that actually participate in the racing part of Goodwood Revival, you would still be left with the largest classic car show in England in the event’s parking lot alone. This is the real show, where you’ll find cars from all over the British Isles and continental Europe, and it’s important to note that these enthusiasts drove their cars to the event. Hundreds of classics, from steadfast Lancia Fulvias to perfectly-restored Jaguar E-Types to 1980s gems like the 911 Clubsport, line the parking lot. It’s the perfect place to have a picnic, and that’s exactly what showgoers do. There isn’t a better backdrop in which to sip a Perfect Pimms and have a chat.

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Photographed by Cole Pennington

Period Dress

Ask 150,000 people to dress in period garb in any other country and it simply won’t happen. The magic of the Goodwood Revival is that each and every attendee relishes the opportunity to dress up as if it were the middle of the twentieth century. Some folks even go as far as to don a military officer’s uniform from the era. As for me, I found an embroidered bomber jacket from the 1950s that belonged to Wally Newcomb of the El Jebel Air Patrol, a group of “Flying Shriners”, a Freemason-adjacent fellowship of pilots who flew for a good cause. On my wrist was a Tudor Oyster Air Tiger from the 1950s as well. The fact that everyone is dressed up is the secret sauce that makes the Goodwood Revival work. The only giveaway that you’re in 2022 is the presence of iPhones and modern cameras.

The Goodwood Revival is the motoring event I most look forward to these days, because while it may be stuck in time, it’s constantly growing and offering something new. At the same time, as the world evolves and changes, the spirit of the Goodwood Revival remains consistent. No matter how many times you’ve attended the event, I suspect you’ll agree that we could all learn a thing or two from the underlying themes of resilience and a celebration of the analog way of life.

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Photographed by Cole Pennington

More about Goodwood

Dubbed "England’s greatest sporting estate", Goodwood is dedicated to celebrating and preserving its rich history. You can find out more about them through their website and their Instagram (@goodwoodrevival).

Meet our contributors

Cole Pennington is a classic car enthusiast and editor at Hodinkee, the foremost destination for all things watches. You can find more of his photography and writing at his Instagram (@cole_pennington).