Newmarket: Horse Racing, History and Special Excursions

Newmarket combines the history of horse racing with unusual cultural experiences and distinctive landscapes. The town is regarded as the place where horse racing originated around three and a half centuries ago and from where it spread throughout the world. This creates a special mix for planning your trip: you can visit museums and historic buildings, arrange a tour of a thoroughbred stud farm or discover Newmarket’s paths and landscapes by bicycle.

Horse Racing in Museums and Historic Buildings

The National Horseracing Museum is located on a five-acre site in the heart of Newmarket in Suffolk. The site includes the Packard Galleries of British Sporting Art at Palace House. The daily Meet the Horses sessions focus on the retraining and aftercare of racehorses and are included in the general admission. For families, this is an informative way to learn more about handling racehorses without limiting the museum visit to historical objects.

Palace House is incorporated into the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art. The building stands on the site of a palace that Charles II had built in 1671 for his twice-yearly visits to Newmarket. The listed Trainer’s House at the Palace House Stables is also part of the town’s history. A central wall is located there and is considered the only surviving part of a large 17th-century stable.

The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building under the British classification system. Every June, it hosts the Newmarket Jigsaw Festival and the British Jigsaw Championships. Anyone wishing to combine historic sites with an unusual event will find a different way to engage with the town’s history here. Newmarket’s medieval market charter was among the earliest granted in Suffolk; it was followed by a royal fair charter in 1223.

Landscape, Paths and Special Destinations

Devil’s Dyke lies on Newmarket Heath. It is an earthwork of Anglo-Saxon origin dating from the 7th century AD, approximately the 600s. The famous Gallops comprise 2,500 acres of training grounds. These terms are closely associated with Newmarket’s distinctive appearance, but each should be treated as a separate destination when planning your own visit.

For a more active day of travel, the cycling route The Jockey’s Trail begins in Newmarket. The July Course also has a one-mile straight known as The Bunbury Mile. If different interests come together in your travel group, places shaped by sporting history such as these can be combined with a museum visit, a historical discovery or a culinary break. Newmarket sausages are considered a local speciality that residents have appreciated for a long time.

Tours with a Set Itinerary

The National Stud is the only thoroughbred stud farm in the United Kingdom that offers tours to the general public. The tours last approximately 90 minutes and include sections by coach and on foot. They also include meeting visiting mares and their foals. For planning your day, this itinerary is a specific difference from a freely arranged walk: you choose a guided experience with an approximate duration and several forms of transport.

Arrival and Choosing Holiday Accommodation

Newmarket railway station offers regular train connections to Cambridge in the west and Ipswich in the east. The bus station is served by various public bus services providing connections to Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. These connections can help you decide whether to focus your trip more strongly on Newmarket itself or on several destinations in the surrounding area.

When looking for a holiday apartment in Newmarket, it is worth first deciding on your most important days of travel: are the National Horseracing Museum and Palace House the main focus, are you planning a tour of The National Stud or would you like to include the cycling route The Jockey’s Trail? The specific location of your accommodation should then suit the planned destinations and your journey. This keeps your choice of accommodation connected to the desired mix of culture, horse racing, landscape and activity.

More Places for Planning Your Trip

If you would also like to compare other destinations, you can include Blythburgh, Drinkstone, Copdock, Brome, Tuddenham, Corton, Shimpling and Stoke By Nayland in your selection.

To the overarching travel overview: Suffolk.