Santa Pod is a drag strip located near the village of Poddington, Northamptonshire, UK. The nearest motorway junction is junction 14 of the M1. The strip is host to several events throughout the year, not just drag racing.

Notes on Getting there

You should find that Santa Pod is signposted from the M1, although at the busier summer events, the large queue of traffic is usually a dead giveaway as to which direction you should be travelling in.

When you get to Santa Pod, you will usually be directed where to park up and set up your tent, so it's best to travel in convoy if you're expecting to set up camp next to any of your friends. This said, it is possible to have a word with the security staff and sometimes they will be quite nice and friendly and let your friends skip the queue a little bit, although they do make it quite clear that once you're in the fields, you can't reserve space for your companions.

The Security Staff

The security staff at Santa Pod are not the sort of people you want to get on the wrong side of. Usually they will warn you the first time you do something wrong and evict you from the site the second time. Here's how not to annoy them:

• Don't bring any glass bottles to Santa Pod. Your vehicle may be searched.

• Turn your car sound system down when asked.

• Don't jump over barriers with 'no admittance' written on them.

• Don't get into fights.

• Generally be nice to everyone you meet and anything you encounter.

What Goes On?

You may think that watching cars drive down a straight stretch of road is unlikely to be enough to entertain you for a full weekend. And you may well be right. Luckily, there's plenty of other things to do, especially at the larger events. For example, at the Summer 2001 Bug Jam event (we'll cover Bug Jam in more detail below), there were two large music tents (one of which also had comedy acts during the day), lots of stalls to spend your money on, a fairground, more fast food vans than is humanly possible to patronise in two days and, of course, there's the other tent with a bar in it.

Apart from the above, you should also find yourself with a selection of friends, somewhere to sleep and you'll probably want to bring some alcohol with you. Just remember that if your alcohol is in glass bottles - don't bring it or transfer it to other containers.

Expect late nights, too. There will be a wide selection of people playing dance music very loud until very late. If this does not sit well with you, hang around until the very end of the Sunday so you can see the perpetrators running around asking for jumpleads as they realise their batteries have gone flat.

Also, in order to enjoy your time at Santa Pod, do not use the toilets. Do not use the toilets. Ensure that you can hold it till you get home. Do not use the toilets.

Bug Jam

Bug Jam is a Volkswagen Beetle¹ event, although you can discount entrance if you arrive in any kind of Volkswagen. It's quite a big event, and you'll see many customised Beetles, Camper Vans and Beach Buggies.

There will also be more entertainment than normal at Bug Jam events - you can check to see what's on at the Official Bug Jam Website.

Flame & Thunder

This is supposed to be a drag racing event, but you will get to see others, too. If you get cold at this event, go and stand in 'the barn' at the back of the track when the jet cars are warming up. But don't do this if lots of smoke and dust give you breathing difficulties.

Run What Ya Brung

This isn't actually a weekend event, but usually a day when you can take your own precious car onto the drag strip and get a nice little timing slip to show off to all your friends.

You can find out when the next 'Run What Ya Brung' event is on by looking at the Santa Pod Website.