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In and Around Newmarket


Newmarket is a small attractive market town situated on the Suffolk / Cambridgeshire border just 20 minutes from Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds and Ely and famous throughout the world as the Home of Horseracing.

Horse galloping up Warren Hill

Home to over 5000 thoroughbred horses - approximately 2500 in training and another 2500 on the stud farms in and around the town, Newmarket has been associated with horses and royalty since Queen Boadicea's days but became synonymous with racing in the 17th century when King James I moved his court to the town and became the unofficial second capital of England for the rest of the Stuart period. Kings Charles I and Charles II continued the tradition and in 1752 the arrival of The Jockey Club, racing's first administrative body, established Newmarket as the headquarters of racing.

This unique town has two racecourses, 52 stud farms, 75 licensed trainers and is home to the Jockey Club, the governing body of horseracing, Tattersalls - the biggest equine auction house in Europe -  founded in 1776, and two of the largest equine hospitals and veterinary centres.


Horses walking down Warren Hill

As you arrive in the town, the impact of the horseracing industry is immediately obvious, not only because of the horse pavements and traffic lights that you will see, there to help them make their journey from their yard to the exercise grounds a safe one, but also because open heathland stretches for miles at both ends of the town, with the main training ground - Warren Hill - running right into the town centre. It is here where you can go from Monday to Saturday, between sunrise and 1pm, to watch the horses and jockeys training. Newmarket is regularly visited by world famous jockeys, members of The Royal Family and a variety of celebrity owners, many of whom can be seen either out riding on the gallops exercising the horses they may be racing, or with their trainers watching their horses being put through their paces. The surrounding area is also home to some of the world's 50 most important stud farms, including Darley Stud, the world renowned Sheikh Mohammed's breeding industry, and your morning on the gallops can be complemented by a trip to one of the training yards for a 'behind the scenes' tour, and a tour to one of the stud farms to see both past and future champions!

Racing:
Newmarket is home to two race courses: the Rowley Mile Racecourse with its superb £21 million grandstand - open in the Spring and Autumn and featuring the world famous 1000 and 2000 Guineas meeting in May, as well as the Champions Meeting in October : and the July Course, recently re-opened following a £10m redevelopment in 2007, open during the summer months, an oasis of sun dappled lawns, magnificent beach trees, thatched roofs and open air bars and famous for it's 'Newmarket Nights' where world famous bands play after a magnificent days racing.


Rowley Mile Millenium Grandstand



Guided Tours:
The best way to experience the unique sights of Newmarket is to join one of the guided tours on offer. The National Horseracing Museum, and Hoofbeats offer guided tours of the town and the gallops, with trips to various training yards, veterinary centres and the ever popular equine swimming pool. The National Stud - the only stud to open it's doors to the public offers twice daily tours offering visitors a fascinating insight into the world of thoroughbred breeding.

For those visitors wanting to escape the horses for a while, the Newmarket Horseshoe Trail is a guided tour of Newmarket - available to buy from the Tourist Information Centre, Palace Street, which walks you around the town and explains the history of some of the magnificent buildings including the Jubilee Clock Tower and the Cooper Memorial, All Saints and St Mary's Churches, and the magnificent Palace House - which is part of the original Palace constructed for King Charles II.

Palace House                                Jubilee Clock Tower



Opposite Palace House are the Palace House Stables, reputed to be the oldest racing stables in the world, and just across the road from Palace House is Nell Gwynne's house where the mistress of King Charles II is said to have stayed when the Royal Court came to town. These walking tours are booked through the National Horseracing Museum, based in Newmarket High Street.

All tours can also be enjoyed as part of a larger group - for more information click on the link for the Newmarket Experience.

More information on all our attractions is available through the attractions link on our tourism home page.

Shopping:
With a selection of both private and independant gift shops, and a few bigger chained stores, Newmarket town centre is the perfect place to wander and browse, picking up presents and souvenirs of your visit, the Tourist Information Centre - based in Palace House, has free information on accommodation and things to do while you are in the area, and information on the rest of the UK, as well as a gift shop, with a range of carefully selected gifts and souvenirs, including guide books, maps, walks and cycle routes.

Sausages:
As well as being famous for racing - Newmarket is also famous for it's Newmarket Sausages - the recipe for which dates back to the 1880's. Recently awarded Best Regional Product in the Daily Telegraph/Sainsbury's 'Taste of Britain Awards' Newmarket Sausages have been popular in the town for many years - and by the early 20th century the sausage was being taken home as a souvenir by visitors to Newmarket, including the Royal Family.
There are two official makers of the Newmarket Sausage - Powters and Musks, with both having outlets within the town centre, Powters have a shop on Wellington Street, and Musks are sold through the butchers - Eric Tennant in the Guineas Shopping Centre. Many of the local restaurants and accommodation providers have Newmarket sausages as a regular on their menus! The perfect opportunity to try before you buy!

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