The Cambridgeshire town where a World War Two airfield is now used for kart racing

Just west of Huntingdon is a town full of Tudor-style homes and grand buildings, perhaps the most important of which is a mediaeval castle in which Catherine of Aragon died. Today, the grade-one listed Kimbolton Castle forms the main building of Kimbolton School, an independent secondary school for children aged four to 18.

Kimbolton’s historical significance is not limited to its links with a divorced and dying Queen. Just over 400 years after Catherine of Aragon’s death, the town made an important contribution to the allied efforts in World War Two.

Kimbolton Airfield was opened in 1942, and was assigned to the United States Army Air Force. The site was used for RAF training between the end of the war and the early 1960s, when demolition began.

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The ex-airfield has taken on an unlikely role today, as tracks for go karting. The Hunts Kart Racing Club was founded in 1959 and, from its site at the ex-airfield, Kimbolton grew to be the biggest karting circuit in East Anglia.

Today, race meetings are held at Kimbolton during the second week of each month. Moving from go-karts to bumper cars, the town’s Statute Fair – fondly known by locals as ‘Statty Fair’ – is held in September.

Hundreds of fair-goers fill the High Street each year. Features listed by one local historian were: “Dodgems, darts, candy floss and cuddly toys”.

The much-loved event dates all the way back to 1200. An attempt to prevent Covid-19 from blocking the long-standing tradition saw one ‘teacups’ ride set up at the end of High Street in 2020.

After a day at the fair or the kart track, a visitor to Kimbolton is likely to be in need of a meal and a drink. The recently-refurbished pub along High Street, The New Sun Inn, may just hit the spot.

The menu includes traditional dishes such as ‘pie of the day’ and battered haddock fillet. It has an impressive Google average rating of 4.4 / 5, with one happy customer writing: “We had a really nice Easter meal here as a party of seven.

“I absolutely loved the pork cheek and salmon and prawn specials. The pub had tasty, homemade food and something for everyone.”

Kimbolton is a 50-minute drive from Cambridge, a 24-minute drive from Huntingdon and an 18-minute drive from St Neots. The number 400 bus will get you from Huntingdon to Kimbolton in around 35 minutes, while the number 150 will take you to the town from St Neots in around 24 minutes.