How Max captures the nature of Brooklands

As Brooklands Museum prepares to mark 100 years since Britain’s first Grand Prix, a quieter story is unfolding across the historic racetrack - captured through the lens of its 20-year-old photographer, Max Williamson.

By day, Brooklands Museum roars with life as historic vehicles thunder up Test Hill and families and enthusiasts explore Concorde, racing cars and the legendary banking of the world’s first purpose-built race track.

When the gates close, the engines fall silent and the crowds head home another side to Brooklands Museum emerges.

Foxes slip through the shadows, squirrels dart across the historic landscape and birds settle among aircraft and woodland shaped by more than a century of human innovation.

This secret life has been captured by Max, Brooklands Museum’s content and digital officer, whose striking photographs reveal an unexpected world thriving among the icons of British motorsport and aviation.

Max said: “During the day my job is to capture the people, cars and aircraft that bring Brooklands Museum to life. But when everything becomes quiet, you start to notice a completely different side of the site.

“You might see a fox moving across the old racetrack or hear a woodpecker on Test Hill. I love that contrast - this is a place built for machines, speed and innovation, yet nature has made itself at home here too.”

Alex Patterson, CEO of Brooklands Museum, added: "Max's photographs have captured something that even those of us who know Brooklands well sometimes overlook.

“When the crowds leave and the site falls quiet, Brooklands becomes more than an extraordinary collection of historic cars, aircraft and buildings - it reveals itself as a living landscape.

"Those quieter moments matter to our people too. For staff and volunteers, stepping away from screens, hearing birdsong instead of engines, and taking a few moments to reconnect with nature has become an important part of wellbeing at Brooklands Museum.”