Cheltenham visitor guide | Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham Festival guide
Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse primarily used for staging horse racing events. It is located in Prestbury Park, in the small village of Prestbury, just outside Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Cheltenham is famous for the Cheltenham Festival, which is held in the March of each year and features the prestigious Gold Cup as its centrepiece. Due to hosting this, Cheltenham is thought of as the "home of National Hunt racing". Other famous races ran over the course include the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Champion Hurdle race.
Cheltenham has a capacity of 67,500 people, and has many tracks including the Old and New courses and a cross-country course for other events.
Speaking of other events, Cheltenham Racecourse is also home to The Centaur, a multi-use auditorium which can accommodate up to 4,000 people for concerts. Finally, the University of Gloucestershire holds its graduation ceremonies at the racecourse too.
Reaching Cheltenham Racecourse by car is not necessarily difficult, but you should always plan to leave way ahead of time to beat the crowds. The best way to find the racecourse would be to use satellite navigation or a good route planner and to assist with this the postcode is GL50 4SH.
However, there are also good public transport options for reaching Cheltenham too. A bus link runs shuttles direct from Cheltenham Spa train station, which is one way, but the most elegant tracked method of getting there is to go by steam train, which you can book as a special treat through the website.
Bus services come in the guise of Stagecoach service D, which runs to and from the course. In any case, there are information boards dotted around the course so that once you are there you can keep abreast of the current bus, train and car sharing options available.
You can book tickets online or by phone on 08445 793 003 . For online booking, you will need the dates and enclosures you want tickets for, any seating or car parking requirements, and your credit or debit card to hand. Alternatively you can go online at www.cheltenham.co.uk
Between October and early May, Cheltenham plays host to quality Jump racing through 8 events and a total of 17 days. Starting with the Showcase in October, through the Open in November, Boylesports International the following month, New Year’s Day and festival Trials in January, the chapters of the Festival story unfold. And when all the competitors finally arrive for the annual olympics of the sport each March, the 450 horses attract an enormous audience of enthusiasts from all over the UK, Ireland and beyond.
For full fixture details click here: <a href="http://www.cheltenham.co.uk/racing/racing_fixtures.html">Cheltenham fixtures</a>.
