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.
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.
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.
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.
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!