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Cheltenham races
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Cheltenham racecourse
, a ten-minute walk north of Pittville Park at the foot of Cleeve Hill, is Britain's main steeplechasing venue. The principal event of the season, the three-day
National Hunt Festival
in March, attracts forty thousand people each day. A fair proportion of them come from Ireland, the birthplace of some of the greatest horses to have raced here, including the supreme steeplechaser,
Arkle
. Other meetings take place in January, April, October, November and December: a list of fixtures is posted up at the tourist office. For the cheapest but arguably the best view, pay A?5 (rising to A?15 during the Festival) for entry to the Courage Enclosure, as the pen in the middle is known. For schedules and other information, call 01242/513014 or access the website at
. For the National Hunt Festival it's essential to buy tickets in advance.
A popular pre-meet watering hole is the
King's Arms
, a short walk east of the racecourse in
Prestbury
, an old Cotswold village with a reputation for being the most haunted village in England, and which has now been subsumed into the town.
Fred Archer
, considered by many to have been the finest Flat jockey of all time, was brought up here, and he features prominently among the pub's racing memorabilia. The pub has sadly lost much of its character since becoming part of a chain, and you might find the nearby
Royal Oak
more congenial. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United Kingdom,
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