In 1973, the track “Brain damage”, the penultimate track of Pink Floyd’s masterpiece album “The dark side of the moon” revealed itself with the words: “The lunatic is on the grass” (translated: the lunatic is on the grass; which a contextual interpretation can extend to the image of the madman lying on the green carpet).
More than fifty years later Nick Mason, the band’s drummer, has turned that opening engraved in the minds of generations of “Floydians” into a manifesto. From lucidity collapsing into the darkness of the mind, with the lawn as a metaphorical refuge and a call to the childlike purity of the band’s co-founder, Syd Barrett, lost in the labyrinths of a lysergic madness, the grass and the wide spaces of his sumptuous Middlewick House estate, in Corsham, Wiltshire, will turn into something else entirely. Filling up, yes, with lunatics; but lunatics in love with the roar of engines, Ferraris and many other racing cars that have played a leading role in motorsport history in various ways.
Crazy about engines? Welcome
So: welcome “madmen”. Welcome those who get a thrill from everything that smells of gasoline, speed, style combined with ageless mobility. The appointment is for the weekend of June 6 and 7. And even though the date is now just around the corner, it is still possible to participate. Mason himself announces it on his social profiles.
The invitation is almost disarming in its simplicity: “Do you want to wander through some beautiful gardens and a menagerie of animals, as well as see Nick’s classic and high-performance cars?” Because the Middlewick House weekend is not a show for its own sake. The musician and great car and racing enthusiast (he participated in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans five times between 1979 and 1984) opens the gates of his property to the public for a social project: the proceeds from the tickets will go entirely to support two charities rooted in the area. The first is the Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity, which funds the air ambulance service in the region.
The second is the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, which provides practical and material support to victims of burglaries and domestic crimes in the rural communities of Wiltshire, often isolated and far from urban services. After logistical problems related to the very high participation in the 2025 edition (with 15,000 attendees, £200,000 was raised) measures were taken. The organizers have introduced new measures: access to the green estate will be allowed only with tickets purchased in advance online (information on the website middlewickhouseopengarden.com). The price is £20 for adults and £10 for companions; children under 12 will enter free of charge.
A historic residence with a legendary garage
Middlewick House is not just a garage with an attached farm property. It is a historic Georgian-style complex built at the end of the 18th century protected by the British heritage authority. Before being purchased by Nick Mason and his wife Annette in 1995, it was the residence of Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Camilla).
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The property includes beautiful formal gardens, an organic vegetable garden, a swimming pool and several converted stables, which today house the artist’s precious vintage car collection managed through his company, Ten Tenths. With well-kept gardens that deserve a visit regardless of any engine. The weekend program is designed for families: you stroll among the flowerbeds, meet the animals of the small menagerie and wander among the stalls set up for the occasion, where you can find jewelry, plants, candles and works of art. A market with the background, who knows, of some historic Pink Floyd tracks in the air.
Two hundred million pounds on four wheels
To attract visitors from every corner of Great Britain and other parts of the world, this year too, the beauty of the territory and the charitable cause will not be enough. The real magnet will be the cars. Mason’s collection is one of the most extraordinary worldwide. In the large spaces full of pathos and nestled in the greenery of southwest England masterpieces of another era of enormous value, valued at over two hundred million pounds, will be exhibited.
The queen is a Ferrari 250 GTO: 39 surviving examples in the world, forty million pounds in value alone and a physical presence that takes your breath away even for those who cannot distinguish a carburetor from a spark plug. Also in the garage a 1953 250 MM, an F40, a GTB/4 Daytona, a LaFerrari and the Ferrari 512 S that in 1971 shared the set, as well as the track, with Steve McQueen in the film “Le Mans”. So far, the predictable pantheon of a serial collector. To which are added a 1927 Bugatti Type 35B, a 1935 Aston Martin Ulster, a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, a 1957 Maserati 250F. Decade by decade, the list continues with pieces that alone are worth the trip.
And then, scattered in what looks more like a vintage-themed amusement park than a garage: the Ferrari 312T3 that Villeneuve raced, the Ferrari Enzo, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and a 1995 McLaren F1 GTR that is now almost impossible to find on the market. There is enough to stimulate the curiosity and passion of lovers of these authentic four-wheel jewels and to start looking for a low-cost flight; perhaps the only budget item affordable for everyone.
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