First timer advice on Cheltenham festival

Scrappylad

Hi all,
Im taking my dad to Cheltenham this March for the Tuesday and Wednesday. Both of us are first timers. I have travel and accommodation sorted. I was looking for advice on places to eat in Cheltenham after racing and any other advice would be brilliant. Would it be advisible to book in advance etc..
Any info regarding eating and how early to get to the races and the like would be greatly appreciated.:)
Thanks in advance , Scrappy

mdwexford

Cant help you with the eating but id aim to be at the course by 11-12 anyway.
I enjoyed having a good look around before the place got too packed.

You'd also be surprised how tired you are after it, I wanted to collapse after fighting my way through the crowds all day.
Best experience ever though.

longshotvalue

There are plenty of decent restaurants, and there wont really be any need to book beforehand. I usually go to an Italian place on the main street that is very good, ill post the name if i can think of it later.

On course there is a decent noodle take away. (decent in comparison to the usual take away Sh**e at these kind of events)

If this is your first time, prepare to go every year from now on, as it cant be missed, once sampled..

One other thing, if you haven't got tickets yet, get the Club tickets as there is far more room than tats..

Winning Ways Racing

If you go to the races early they normally have a parade of champions plus plenty of insight into the days racing. If its not too cold, you can sit on the steps merrily drinking a hot whiskey and perusing the racing post for an hour or two.

On restaurants, there is an Italian between O'Neills and The Queens Hotel on Montpelier which does ok cheaper food. There was an indian on the parallel road that was good but not sure if its still there and it is popular so book. The restaurant opposite 21 Club (used to be called Merlot) is ok too but my fav is Alexanders which is next door to 21 Club. Its a cafe most of the year but they open for dinner for the Festival. Some seriously good food at very affordable prices. If you are happy to hop in a taxi from town centre, the Langton pub does some really good food. Its about £5-8 in a taxi and is on London Road. Its a bit of a gastro pub but really nice. You need to book. Alternatively, there is a really popular pub at the end of the backstraight which does grub. They only have ten tables so you need to book a few weeks ahead. You can walk down the backstraight to get to it. Not cheap as they have serious repeat customers.

Hope that helps.

Hulk Hands

For anyone looking to head over on the cheap, I have a few tips. Me and a few mates did it on a tight student budget a couple of years ago.

Instead of flying to the usual (Birmingham, Bristol), consider flying into Manchester and getting the train down. You can get a plane there for pittance in the morning, and then its a cheap 1 1/2 hours train ride down, on which you could always relax with a couple of beers. The station is even situated in the airport.

For accommodation, you can get a lovely hotel/hostel in Bristol for very cheap. From there its a 50 minute train to Cheltenham and back. This might not suit everyone, because the last train back is 11 at night and you might miss some of the nightlife. However, Bristol is a nice city to go out in also.

Hoofer

There are plenty of places to eat in cheltenham so you definetely wont have to book..there is a very good french restaurant on montpellier called rouge i think..plenty of space upstairs..in the last 5 years i have eaten in the queens hotel every night and the dinner has been superb every time and good service..there is a good thai restaurant off one of those side streets between high street and say the racetrack, cannot remember name but simon holt was sitting next to us with a few of his mates and the food was good..all in all there are plenty of good side street restaurants off high street so when you step off the bus from coming back from races you wont be stuck.....as it is your first time in Cheltenham make sure you tip the staff as you will be returning to the same restaurant every march from now on..enjoy the greatest show on turf:)

Joncol

There's so many good places to eat that you really don't have to plan. After racing the town does be buzzing so you'll have a great time no matter where you end up.

What I would ask is what category tickets do you have? The racecourse gets sooooooooooooooooo packed, literally nothing compared to an Irish meeting, so if you can get club tickets I certainly would. The "jungle" is good craic but I'm one of those people who like watching the racing and I barely got to see any of it being stuck in the stands unable to move 20 mins prior to and after each race so I didn't enjoy it and I was absolutely exhausted when at the race themselves.

The nightlife is the easy part haha!!

Scrappylad

Hi guys thanks for all the advice. I am only ordering the tickets this weekend. I would say since were only going for 2 days that we'll probably order club tickets.

sq_forever

On the tickets. If you have student ID, you can get club tickets for £25, Wednesday only, at the kiosk outside the track. Tuesday and Wednesday don't sell out.

Overthelast

I generally get to the track early (10.30 or 11).

You can take a seat in The Centaur, grab a coffee and have a crack at the placepot which soaking up the atmosphere. Then wander down to the parade ring as there are plenty of pre-race demonstrations/parades etc.

As pointed out already, walking around a busy track for 6 hours while trying to unlock the key to the days 6 or 7 race puzzles does take its toll so arrive well rested to get the most of the 2 days.

While you can dine locally, if your budget is ok, pay £15 to one of the local taxi's and head out of town and maybe try somewhere different for a bite to eat. I visited both these spots in November & they do a nice steak. You may need to book in advance for the festival. Regardless of where you eat, you'll do well to beat the quality of food we get at home!

Good luck & enjoy the trip!

Corner Cupboard - Winchcombe
Apple Tree - Woodmancote

ft9

Overthelast wrote: »

I generally get to the track early (10.30 or 11).

You can take a seat in The Centaur, grab a coffee and have a crack at the placepot which soaking up the atmosphere. Then wander down to the parade ring as there are plenty of pre-race demonstrations/parades etc.

As pointed out already, walking around a busy track for 6 hours while trying to unlock the key to the days 6 or 7 race puzzles does take its toll so arrive well rested to get the most of the 2 days.

While you can dine locally, if your budget is ok, pay £15 to one of the local taxi's and head out of town and maybe try somewhere different for a bite to eat. I visited both these spots in November & they do a nice steak. You may need to book in advance for the festival. Regardless of where you eat, you'll do well to beat the quality of food we get at home!

Good luck & enjoy the trip!


Corner Cupboard - Winchcombe
Apple Tree - Woodmancote

So true, food over there is muck, and drink is just pure slobber too! Great spot though bar that

Gerlad

I'm not sure Club tickets will be necessarily required for the Tuesday and Wednesday - certainly on Gold Cup day but if you get there early and secure a decent perch in the Tatts you should be ok. Get to the track at about half 11 and soak up the place.

We discovered this bistro place last year on the Saturday as we were heading home. Sensational steaks and everything else was also top notch. I would say you'd have to book. Located right beside the bus station and one minute from the Promenade.

http://www.theroyalwelltavern.com/index.php

hucklebuck

This year is going to be my first year at Cheltenham and I can't fupping wait:D

Aer Arann have pished me off no end, myself and a mate are heading over for Tue, Wed and Thurs and we are flying in and out of Bristol and we are staying in the IBIS in Bristol. Aer Arann then changed the time of our flight back on Thursday from 10pm to 5:30pm which means we won't be able to go to see Big Bucks on "Paddys Day":mad:. The cynic in me feels our original flight time will reappear at a hugely inflated price.

Probably a stupid question but is there anywhere to leave your bags near the track as there is a flight from Birmingham at around 10pm and the only problem then is if we bring our bags with us do we end up carrying them around for the day.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Colonel Sanders

There's a free cloakroom/left luggage place at the course.

Most race courses in England have one

Bluetonic

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

Most race courses in England have one

And indeed most in Ireland too.

hucklebuck

Thanks Colonel and Blue.

Is the mobile reception 3G good in the area? If so which is the best network?


Ta.

Make A Stand

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Mod edit: please keep posts on topic - remember, the OP asked for advice on logistics of going to Cheltenham.

finbarrk

The restaurant in the Queens is ok as someone else said here. You might have to wait for a table but it's not too bad. You will always get a table somewhere if you just walk around the town. Italian, Greek, Chineese, Indian we have tried them all!
This place, Vanilla might suit you. We had a table booked one evening there, it was nice.

http://www.vanillainc.co.uk/restaurant/

Scrappylad

Hi guys ,
Thanks for all the info so far. I was just wondering if anyone has ever been to the Cheltenham preview night in the royal oak in Prestbury. If so are tickets hard to get and is it worth going ?
Cheers Scrappy

Hoofer

In 21 days and ill be rocking and rolling in club 21:)

cson

Last minute decison to head over tomorrow; how much is a pint and a bit of grub on track [fish+chips jobbie]? Trying to figure out how much to bring.