West Coast Karting — Local services in Maryport

Desperately needs updating or change of hands. I went many years ago and hasn't changed a single bit. Booking in itself was difficult, despite ringing during opening hours the guy never had his diary on him or card reader so kept having to ring back, finally managed to book in and pay after the 3rd day of trying. When we arrived, after a while of standing around we were ushered into a small room with ancient TVs and Computers and asked to write our name and details on a piece of paper and left alone to watch a short video. We then were directed to changing rooms with a range of race suits and helmets. I can't speak for the men's race suits but the women's were in poor condition, poorly labeled so had to try on a couple to find one that fit, had working zippers or didn't have holes in. I didn't see a single person that worked there smile or seem welcoming. We where quickly told to get in the karts and shouted at if we took too long. My partner struggled with a race suit that was too small so had to miss out the first race while they got him a bigger one because they were mislabeled. The karts themselves are fast but very stiff to steer, no seat belts or seat adjustments if you are taller/shorter so you will be hurting after a couple of races and even more so the next day. My brother also had to miss out the very last race because his breaks failed but wasn't given a replacement kart or an apology. When we finished we stood around for a while not sure what to do while all the staff sat down tucking into a subway. After an awkward while a guy came round with our time sheets and some trophies for the winner and then quickly left. Again, no smiles or anything. Unless the place gets updated or changes staff I won't...

My son and I had a terrific time last week on a practice session. £22 for 25 minutes reasonable price, cheaper than our nearest to home track. Only four of us on there at the time so plenty of room. Arrived in good time for our booked slot but was offered an earlier one as would be less people on so took it. Had to go into the changing room and find a suit and helmet ourselves, and were provided with throwaway balaclavas. The staff ensured our helmets were fastened properly and we were allocated karts and left to get on with it! Expected more of a briefing but we have both been karting before so not too much of an issue. Track is good fun with the long corner around to the last corner flat out and great satisfaction if taken just right - with the kart's engine flat out certainly sounds good! Plenty of overtaking spots if you're brave enough or the kart in front gives enough room! I'm no Lewis Hamilton and the track record turned out to be 2.3 seconds faster than what I was able to achieve! In these instances never sure how someone can go 2.3 seconds faster than me, though they're probably a lot fitter, better, and lighter! Overall really enjoyed it as got to race a couple of other guys and my son, so we would recommend it and hopefully will go again when we're next...

Been here before & it was OK but this time from booking in via telephone to the experience itself was VERY POOR. It seems to be run by young lads who had little or no "people skills". We arrived late and I was trying to establish whether we would get a full session in or would it be better to go in a later session. One minute they were implying that we would extra laps as we had missed about 5 laps. Once we were committed they then said when the chequered flag is shown we would have one lap (the same as everyone else). The cart we had was pathetically slow but when I pointed it out the lad just seemed to ignore it. I mentioned it again to be told they were all the same. In the next session it was visually noticeable again that that Kart was seriously lacking in speed. The session was well short of the 25Mins. My main gripe is the lack of communication with the staff. I could not have a sensible conversation with them even when booking in advance. 3 out of 4 of the vending machines were out of action and the one that should have been working failed to deliver. All in all it was a very disappointing experience and I would NOT...