Karting birthday parties in Kent
4 tracks in Kent run birthday parties events. The single thing that decides whether this works is age and height, and it catches people out constantly.
The 4 tracks
BattleKart Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne, Kent
BattleKart Sittingbourne is an indoor venue at Hooks Hole Farm on Chestnut Street, Borden, on the western edge of Sittingbourne. It combines electric karting with video-game style play: tracks and targets are projected onto the floor of a darkened hall.
Buckmore Park
Chatham, Kent
Buckmore Park at Chatham is one of the best known circuits in British karting, and the one where Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard all raced as juniors. It runs two outdoor layouts: an International circuit where an experienced driver laps in around 50 seconds, and a shorter National circuit nearer 35.
Price not published
Bayford Meadows
Sittingbourne, Kent
An 1,100-metre floodlit asphalt circuit on a twelve-acre site behind the Eurolink Industrial Estate at Sittingbourne. It was designed and built by Gerry Lilley on what had been wasteland, opened in 1997, and is now run by his daughter: a genuinely family-run circuit rather than a chain venue.
Price not published
Lydd Kart Circuit
Lydd, Kent
Lydd Kart Circuit sits on Dengemarsh Road out on Romney Marsh in Kent, and runs two separate circuits with an unusually wide age spread between them.
Price per minute
Session price divided by minutes on track, calculated the same way everywhere. Group event pricing differs, so treat this as a guide to relative value.
Minimum group sizes
The thing that catches groups out. Below the minimum you either pay for absent drivers or book an open session instead.
Elsewhere in the region
Absolutely Karting Maidenhead
Maidenhead, Berkshire
Absolutely Karting Maidenhead is an indoor centre at The Arena on Stafferton Way, close to Maidenhead town centre. Its circuit is built over two levels: adults can drive the lower section alone or the full double-level layout, while younger drivers use the top track.
AR Kartz
Burgess Hill, West Sussex
AR Kartz is an indoor electric karting centre on the Panattoni Park business estate at Goddards Green, on the western edge of Burgess Hill. The track is 350 metres long with 15 corners.
Price not published
Brighton Karting
Albourne, West Sussex
Brighton Karting is an 800-metre outdoor tarmac circuit on London Road at Albourne, near Hassocks in Mid Sussex, about ten miles north of Brighton. The track is 7 metres wide and floodlit.
Daytona Milton Keynes
Rooksley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Daytona Milton Keynes is on Dansteed Way at Rooksley, close to junction 14 of the M1 and about ten minutes by taxi from Milton Keynes Central. It is one of three Daytona circuits, alongside Sandown Park and Tamworth.
Price not published
What to look for
Age and height together
Always check both. The gap between a 1.20m and a 1.40m minimum is the difference between an eight-year-old driving and watching.
Cadet karts, not restricted adult karts
Purpose-built junior karts fit smaller drivers properly. Some tracks also fit remote speed limiters so staff can build a nervous child up gradually.
Separate junior sessions
Children mixed in with adults have a worse time. Ask whether junior sessions run separately.
What the package includes
Food, a private room, a podium and a trophy make it a party. Without them it is a driving session with cake in the car.
Questions worth asking
- What is the minimum height, not just the minimum age?
- Will the children race on their own, or mixed with adults?
- Is food included, and can you handle allergies?
- How long will we actually be on site?