The track is on a former Royal Canadian Air Force airbase constructed during the Second World War and later used by British Aerospace as a manufacturing and test facility.

The track’s main route, marked by painted lines and simple structures such as stacks of tyres, was designed by test drivers from Lotus.

The layout of the track is designed to put the car through various conditions, ranging from provoking understeer to testing brake balance and tyres.
The track is approximately 1.75 miles (2.82 km) long. It is considered to be an equaliser for cars since, according to Richard Hammond, both 0–60 miles per hour (0–96.6 km/h) times and top speed are totally meaningless.

The track also incorporates a drag strip, although this is not used for timed segments, it does feature in some challenges and other features on the show.