Cheltenham Racecourse — travel guide, getting there & what to do

Capacity~68,500 on Festival days

Home ofThe Cheltenham Festival (Gold Cup since 1924) at Prestbury Park

SignatureThe Cheltenham Roar as the tape goes up on the opening race

DistrictPrestbury Park, 1.5 miles north of Cheltenham town centre

Nearest stationCheltenham Spa — shuttle buses direct to the course

Events here

Ticket advice and buying windows are event-specific — pick the one you are going to.

16–19 March 2027

Cheltenham Festival 2027

Cheltenham Racecourse · Cheltenham

Four days of jump racing's championship — ending with the Gold Cup on Friday the 19th.

Date confirmedHorse racingThe FestivalGold Cup

Tickets from £35est.

Tickets

Getting there

Trains to Cheltenham Spa run direct from Birmingham (40 min) and via one change from London (2h-2h15). The shuttle buses from station and town centre to the course are constant and cheap on Festival days.
The walk from town is 35-40 minutes and half the crowd does it — up the Evesham Road with a pint stop or two. Walking back after the last race is the reliable move while the bus queues clear.
Driving: official park-and-ride and course parking exist but must be pre-booked, and the A435 crawls from 9am. Train beats car every day of Festival week.
From abroad: Birmingham (BHX) is the practical airport — an hour door to door. London works fine with the direct-ish rail run from Paddington.

Car hire — Booking.com Airport transfer — Booking.com

Where to stay

Shared by every event in this building. Which tier is worth it changes with the event — a fight weekend and a Sunday league game price the same room very differently — but the geography does not.

Value (Gloucester / Tewkesbury)

Chain hotels in Gloucester

Fifteen minutes away by train or cab and routinely a third of Cheltenham's Festival-week rates. The post-racing party is in Cheltenham, but the sleep is cheaper here.

Check prices in Cheltenham

In town

Cheltenham town B&Bs and Montpellier boutiques

Walk to the course, stumble back from the Promenade afterwards. The town's entire stock books out nearly a year ahead for Gold Cup week — commit early or pay triple.

Check prices in Cheltenham

At the course

Ellenborough Park

The country-house option that borders the racecourse itself — you can walk in through the back. The Festival's power-lunch hotel, priced like it.

Check prices in Cheltenham

Make a trip of it

The Promenade and Montpellier bars are the second venue of Festival week — book dinner tables well ahead. If you have a non-racing day, Sudeley Castle, Broadway and the north Cotswolds villages start 20 minutes away.

Attractions & tours — Booking.com Things to do in Cheltenham — GetYourGuide Attraction tickets — Attractiontix

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