I still need to grab 2x GA tickets but I'm heading off to Le Mans on Wednesday so it might be a bit too late to do anything in the post - if you're London-based I could pick them up in person?

My train gets into Le Mans at about 8pm, so I was planning on heading straight for the Tetre Rouge bar. Reckon I could be there for 9!

Last minute decision to go this year, having initially failed to get camping tickets on Garage Vert. Advance party heading over on Saturday 10th to set up camp, I'll be getting the eurostar from London on Wednesday 14th, probably arriving smack bang in the middle of free practice/qualy. Heading back on Monday afternoon

Garage Vert

Access We arrived on Sunday afternoon and the campsite was already open. Finding the entrance is a bit tricky - as you come in to the circuit from the mulsanne, you will pass the tram stop and the stadium on your right. There is a pedestrian entrance to garage vert straight ahead of you (which only opens to pedestrians on Wednesday) but the main/vehicle entrance to the campsite is hidden away, off to the right. It is a shared entrance with hunaudieres campsite. It is also worth noting that both the pedestrian and vehicle entrances are locked shut from sunday night, so after the race has finished the only way to get off the campsite is to head towards houx.

Proximity The site provides good, quick access to various parts of the track. Getting to the Dunlop bridge is a 5/10 minute walk through the tunnels under the Bugatti Circuit. Similarly, getting to the inside edge of the Dunlop Essess is a 5/10 minute walk, where you can get some great views of the cars emerging from under the Dunlop bridge and snaking down through the esses. You can just about see a screen from here. Tetre Rouge is about 10/15 walk where there is also a screen (although didn't appear to work during practice or qualifying). The outside of the dunlop esses can be reached in 15/20. The pit straight is probably a solid 30 minute walk, but most of this can be done trackside if you join the circuit by the dunlop bridge. One of the best things about Garage Vert though is the proximity to the tram stops - 5 minutes walk from the campsite which is ideal if you want to pop into town for scrutineering, drivers parade, or even if you just want to pop down to the Carrefour without taking the car. Being so close to Tetre Rouge also means you're only a short walk away from the Tetre Rouge bar which offers cold beer and TV screens which were showing the football this year if that's your thing and it's a tournament year. 

Facilities The facilities are generally good. There's a plumbed in toilet block which is kept relatively clean. Unfortunately there is only one throne in the gents, although there was generally always toilet paper! There are more toilets by the pedestrian entrance but these don't open until Wednesday. There are half a dozen showers which were generally clean and the ones I used tended to be scalding hot.

Atmosphere More of a sedate atmosphere than some of the more party-centric campsites like Houx or Bleu Nord. We arrived on Sunday when it was very quiet. There weren't really any other arrivals until Wednesday when it started to fill up. Most people tended to come in cars and pitch tents with gazebos. There was the odd marquee but nothing too grandiose. There were a few motorhomes as well. There was a decent atmosphere but you didn't get people partying into the wee small hours. You can actually get a reasonably decent night's sleep early in the week, although the campsite is flood-lit so from inside your tent it's impossible to tell whether it's night or day.

General Pitches are standard 7x5 but they are unallocated so you can turn up and camp wherever you like (well, we could when we turned up on the Sunday, I think the marshalls tried a bit harder to direct people to certain pitches/areas later in the week, but once the marshalls had gone, those people just moved to wherever they wanted to camp!). The campsite has a half tarmac/half gravel road along the outside edge. It's generally flat but there's a gentle slope towards the fence (which tends to get used as a latrine later in the week by people too lazy to walk the 100m to the toilets). There is only a very thin layer of topsoil so getting tent pegs in can be tricky - we had to use a drill one year to create pilot holes. This year was wet and muddy because the rain water didn't drain away. I'm afraid I have no idea how much the tickets cost as someone else in our group bought the tickets this year!

Aricus - I have some pictures as well which I'd be happy to send over to you/upload to somewhere useful.

Anyone going to this?

Me and few mates are getting the ferry over on Friday morning, coming back Monday morning, hoping to camp in the woods.

Sailing looks good this morning. Lots of extra police around asking whether we're going to the football. But apart from that things look good so far. Hope those of you attempting to come out on Tuesday make it across one way or another 

We're off! Well let you know how Pompey-Caen is looking in a few hours time. See you in a field in France!

I checked the Bathurst thing with an Aussie colleague the other day and although she couldn't say for definite, she said that alcohol is basically banned at all sporting events in Australia, so it is highly plausible.

As for Le Mans, I've never had any trouble with bottles at the circuit, although I've always camped inside the track, so I've never had to clear security. The only time it was an issue was when Jamiroquai played about 15 years ago and security wouldn't let any glass bottles in to the arena. I seem to recall this resulted in me and my mates necking about 20 stubbies in front of security and then handing them the empties

Going over with my Dad in the RV, joined by my mate Spikey (3rd Le Mans) and two virgins.

We're going a day earlier than usual this year, sailing out from Portsmouth to Caen on Sunday morning, hoping to gain access to Garage Vert on Sunday evening, where we should have first dibs on unallocated pitches. All being well, we'll be in more or less the same position as last year where we will spend the next 8 days getting nicely sozzled before doing the return leg on Monday afternoon.

If Garage Vert was on your list I would consider offering my services to do that, but seeing as it's not listed, maybe I'll just keep my opinions to myself?!

You're quite right Landman, cattle truck is a far more accurate description. I felt it wasn't too bad getting on because we were more or less the first people on the tram, but it was absolutely rammed. I guess the trick is to go in earlier, pitch up at a bar, get a great view, and then wait for a load of people to turn up at the last minute to block your view!

The introduction of the trams certainly makes it easier and quicker. I seem to recall from a couple of years ago that the tram was absolutely packed (although maybe that was because we left it until the last minute to actually go into Le Mans). It was actually getting pretty feisty as we got nearer the centre and people waiting at the stops weren't able to get on. We managed to find a little bar that was on the route which no-one else seemed to have spotted. It didn't have any chairs or tables but we were able to get drinks without queuing for ages and then just drink them by the side of the road. Crowds were still about 3 or 4 deep at that point but as people got bored and drifted away you could get to the front if that's really important for you. I was happy to hang back so I could be nearer the bar.

Not with us. He might be going with Melissa but I've got no idea what his plans are!

Yes, somewhere out between houx and tetre rouge. Actually not a bad spot location-wise

Who: Me, Dad, a couple of Andys, Tony, Spikey
When: Pompey-Caen 08.15 Monday morning, back on the 16.15 a week later
What in: Dad's RV
Where: Garage Vert this year for somewhere different, although this is mainly due to Porsche building over MB rather than a sense of intrepid adventure and discovery.