Aberdare Park
Aberdare Park at a glance
- Location
- Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
- Type
- road course
- Length
- 1.45 km (0.9 mi)
- Direction
- anti-clockwise
- Surface
- asphalt
- Opened
- 1950
- Owner
- Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (event run by Aberdare & District Motor Club)
- Address
- Park Lane
- Website
- aberdarepark.co.uk
Track map and layout
Aberdare Park is a Victorian public park whose perimeter roads and paths double, once a year, as one of only two closed-road motorcycle circuits left on the British mainland (the other being Oliver's Mount). The lap is short at roughly 0.9 miles and runs anti-clockwise around ornamental gardens, a lake and a bandstand, with tight, twisting sections linked by short straights and almost no run-off beyond the kerb and the park's own trees and railings. Its brevity and technical demands have made it a rite of passage for road racers: riders lap the full circuit in well under a minute at racing speed, and the tight, junction-heavy layout rewards precision over raw horsepower. Outside race weekend the same tarmac is simply the park's ordinary footpaths and roads, open to walkers and cyclists.
Configurations
| Layout | Length | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Full circuit | 1.45 km | The only configuration used; unchanged in outline since the first race in 1950 |
Events and race weekends
The Aberdare Park Road Races is a single annual weekend meeting, run by Aberdare & District Motor Club and held on the closed park roads under permission from Rhondda Cynon Taf council. Practice and qualifying take place on the Saturday with a full programme of races on the Sunday, covering classes from newcomers and classic machines up to the fastest solos, and the meeting has been billed in recent years as one of the last true road races on the UK mainland. The park reopens to normal public use once the event finishes.
| Event | Series | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdare Park Road Races | National & club road racing | August | Run by Aberdare & District Motor Club; the 2026 meeting was held on 1-2 August |
Getting there and parking
Aberdare Park sits less than a mile from Aberdare town centre in the Cynon Valley, just off the B4275 (Hirwaun Road), about 20 miles north-west of Cardiff. Cardiff Airport is the nearest airport with scheduled flights, roughly 30 miles and 45-50 minutes' drive south; Aberdare railway station, on the Cardiff-to-Aberdare line, is a short walk from the park. Race weekend brings road closures around the park itself rather than the wider valley.
- Cardiff Airport (CWL) · about 50 min drive
Parking
Official bike parking at the main entrance is first-come, first-served and fills up on race day; the organisers also point spectators to informal parking nearby, and arriving early is recommended.
The circuit is inside a working public park with houses close to its edge, so this is a compact, close-up road-racing experience rather than a purpose-built circuit with big car parks and grandstands.
Hotels and camping near Aberdare Park
Aberdare itself has a modest stock of B&Bs, guesthouses and small hotels, and the town fills up on race weekend with riders, teams and regular spectators, so booking ahead is worthwhile; many visitors instead base themselves in Cardiff or the wider Rhondda Cynon Taf area, both under an hour's drive away, or camp on site. The event's own official campsite behind the paddock is the simplest option for a full race weekend and typically opens from the Friday.
Where to look
Aberdare and Trecynon town centre are the closest bases; Cardiff (about 45-50 minutes away) has far more hotel capacity for those unable to find a room locally on race weekend.
Camping
An official campsite for spectators sits behind the race paddock; camping passes have included a race weekend ticket and allow arrival from the Friday with departure by the Monday.
RV
Caravans and motorhomes are accommodated on the official campsite alongside tents, though facilities are basic compared with a purpose-built race circuit.
Track days, driving experiences and lap records
There is no public track-day or ride-along access to Aberdare Park: the roads are open to normal park traffic and pedestrians for the rest of the year, and the only time anyone races there is the closed-road weekend organised by Aberdare & District Motor Club, entered by licensed competitors.
Lap records
| Category | Time | Driver | Car | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outright (motorcycle) | 0:42.5 | Carl Fogarty | Motorcycle (solo) | 1988 |
Spectator guide
Spectators watch from grass banks and fenced viewing points around the park's perimeter roads rather than from purpose-built grandstands, putting the crowd close to the action on a circuit with little run-off. A 2025 adult weekend ticket cost £30, a family weekend ticket (2 adults, 2 children) £60, with children under 11 admitted free; prices were frozen from the previous year.
Seating
Viewing is mainly informal, from grass banking and fenced sections of the park boundary rather than grandstands.
Best places to watch
Spots around the lake and the tighter junctions give slower, close-up viewing, while the longer linking sections show the bikes at higher speed; regulars move around the park between races.
Weather
- Jul-Aug: Typical South Wales valley summer weather: changeable, highs around 17-20°C with a real chance of rain
History of Aberdare Park
From illicit races to a sanctioned circuit
Motorcyclists were racing illegally on the roads of Aberdare Park by night from around 1948; rather than police the events away, the local authority chose to sanction organised racing instead, and the first official Aberdare Park Road Race was held on 30 September 1950 over the park's roughly 0.9-mile lap. The meeting grew quickly, running twice in 1951 and reaching national status with 170 entries the year after, cementing Aberdare's place on the British road-racing calendar.
Television and champions
On 18 June 1955 the BBC broadcast live coverage of racing from Aberdare Park, the first live television broadcast of a motorcycle road race anywhere in the British Isles, and the corporation returned in 1978 to film highlights. The roll of riders who raced there reads like a history of British motorcycling and beyond: four-time world champion and 1964 Formula 1 world champion John Surtees rated his early Aberdare Park experience as formative to his whole career, and later winners included Mike Hailwood, Malcolm Uphill, TT legend John McGuinness and multiple Isle of Man winner Ian Lougher.
A 14-year gap and modern revival
Racing stopped after 1964 and did not resume until 1978, a 14-year gap driven by safety and licensing concerns common to closed-road circuits of the era. Once it returned, the lap record fell steadily; Carl Fogarty set an outright record of 42.5 seconds during the 1988 Welsh Open. By the late 2010s Aberdare's survival had become notable in itself: when other short closed-road meetings folded, the 2018 and 2019 Welsh Opens at Aberdare were billed as the only road race left on the UK mainland outside Oliver's Mount.
Present day
Aberdare Park Road Races continues as a closed-road weekend each August, organised by Aberdare & District Motor Club with council permission, drawing riders and fans from across Britain to a circuit that still runs over the same Victorian park paths it always has. Outside that one weekend, the park reverts to its everyday role as Aberdare's public green space.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aberdare Park still used for motorcycle racing?+
Yes. Aberdare & District Motor Club runs a closed-road race weekend there every August, one of only two remaining closed-road circuits on the British mainland alongside Oliver's Mount.
How long is the Aberdare Park circuit?+
The lap is around 0.9 miles (1.45 km), run anti-clockwise over the park's own roads and paths.
Can you drive or ride around Aberdare Park at other times?+
Yes, the roads and paths are ordinary park infrastructure open to walkers, cyclists and normal park traffic for the rest of the year; the circuit is only closed for racing on the one race weekend.
Where do spectators watch from at Aberdare Park?+
Mostly grass banks and fenced viewing points around the park's perimeter, with limited grandstand seating; a 2025 adult weekend ticket cost £30.
Who holds the Aberdare Park lap record?+
Carl Fogarty set the outright lap record of 42.5 seconds during the 1988 Welsh Open.
Why is Aberdare Park significant in British motorsport history?+
It hosted the first live television broadcast of a motorcycle road race in the British Isles in 1955, and riders including John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and John McGuinness have raced there.
Other tracks nearby
- Circuit of Wales · 18 km · proposed (never built)
- Pembrey Circuit · 59 km · road course
- Castle Combe Circuit · 90 km · road course
- Birmingham Superprix · 135 km · historic circuit (defunct)
- Thruxton Circuit · 140 km · road course
- Silverstone Circuit · 172 km · road course
Facts checked against 6 sources including the official circuit website. Last reviewed 2026-09-10.