Time flies when you're having fun, especially when that fun involves flying around a race track in record time.

It's 60 years since Buckmore Park karting track first opened, and since then the famous circuit at Blue Bell Hill has hosted everyone from racing royalty to actual royalty, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Princes William and Harry having raced there as children.

This month, Buckmore celebrates its 60th anniversary with a special charity Grand Prix on Friday, October 27 – but the race will be a far cry from when the track first opened.

Initially only a 400m circuit, the race track was the idea of businessman Cecil Whitehead, a supporter of the Scouts, who in the early 1960s suggested developing a woodland site the Scouts were leasing at the top of Blue Bell Hill.

Having consulted other Kent tracks and racing clubs, he persuaded the nearby Royal School of Military Engineering to build the track as an engineering exercise, and Buckmore opened in 1963.

Subsequently it was used by the Scouts and Rochester Motor Club, as well as visitors to the park, but had fallen into disrepair by the 1980s.

"When I arrived at Buckmore, it was a piece of rough old tarmac just as it was built in 1963 – nothing had changed," Bill Sisley later recalled, looking back at the time he took the dilapidated circuit on.

"There was no electricity, buildings, or kerbs, but I knew the venue well because I had been supplying spares to the Scouts from the mid-1970s onwards.

"No one in the industry wanted to know it because it was considered just 'fun' karting, not real, but I saw a commercial opportunity there."

Dartford-born Sisley, who had run a kart shop since 1974 and already launched racing driver Johnny Herbert's career, would now go on to pioneer outdoor leisure karting at Buckmore.

As well as offering rental karts to the public, Sisley launched the Buckmore Park Kart Club in 1989, before bringing British Championship races to the circuit in the early 1990s, and extending the track until it reached its current 1,200-metre length in 1999.

The early 90s brought another boost for the track when Princess Diana visited the circuit twice with sons William and Harry, in 1992 and 1993.

Having had a go behind the wheel herself, she watched her sons take part in mock cadet racing from the pits.

While the royal brothers enjoyed winning a staged race, other famous drivers had to battle it out for real at Buckmore to make their names in the sport.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton was famously 'discovered' at Buckmore, while other stars to cut their teeth – proverbially – on the track include Johnny Herbert, Jenson Button and David Coulthard.

Buckmore was bought in 2015 by F1 and seven-time motorcycle world champion John Surtees, and the Surtees family have continued to own the track since John's death in 2017, with managing director Philip Ling at the helm.

Surtees’ involvement had begun years earlier, when his son Henry started racing at Buckmore aged seven in the late 90s, and his business involvement began in 2003, when he helped provide funds for a £1.25 million new clubhouse.

During Sisley's time at the helm, the track played host to scores of high-profile meetings, with the prestigious Super One national championships returning in 2014 following a £150,000 upgrade.

Tragically, Henry was killed in a freak Formula 2 accident at Brands Hatch in 2009, and in the wake of his loss John set up a charitable foundation in Henry’s name, with much of the charity’s efforts centring around Buckmore.

In recent years the track has continued to be a favourite with celebrities and budding F1 stars alike – most recently hosting McLaren driver Lando Norris and YouTube influencers the Sidemen.

Last year brought the arrival of a new fleet of Sodi RT10 karts, as well as further improvements to the circuit, and Buckmore continues to invest in an effort to to be the best kart circuit in the UK.

Buckmore's 60th anniversary celebration is being billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime racing party”, which will include a 90-minute Charity Grand Prix, live DJ and exclusive after-party.

The party will be a ticket-only event, and Buckmore will be donating the full entry fee to the Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance, plus other charities, with further funds being raised from a special “bid for grid” qualification system, and silent auctions.

“Buckmore Park has proudly been at the heart of British karting for 60 years," said Buckmore's managing director Philip Ling. "We want to mark this important milestone by throwing Buckmore a huge birthday party, to thank and celebrate our loyal racers, and give back to our local charities too. It will be an unforgettable experience."

Karting sessions have been taking place throughout the week to mark the anniversary, in the build-up to the 90-minute charity grand prix on Friday afternoon.

Visit www.booking.buckmore.co.uk for more information on sessions.

The charity Team Grand Prix is a one-off 90-minute single race for teams of three or four drivers. As a 2* rated race, it is open to all drivers and ideal for those with limited karting experience, with the aim being to have fun, celebrate Buckmore and raise money for charity.

There is a minimum donation of £300 per team, and 100% of entry fees, auction proceeds and other donations will go to chosen charitable causes, including The Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance.