We live by Cheltenham racecourse & watch from our window… bizarre things land in our garden & posh punters are the worst
WITH more than 250,000 racegoers set to descend on Cheltenham Festival, residents are gearing up for four days of ‘neigh’-hem.
But some who live a stone’s throw from the prestigious jump-racing event are lucky enough to be able to watch it from the comfort of their homes.
Lyn Curtis, 66, a retired primary school teacher who has lived in her house next to the racecourse since 1988, tells The Sun: “We have been to the festival but it’s too crowded so we usually watch it on TV.
“But we can see it from our bedroom window – we just can’t see the finish line.
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“In our house you can literally feel the vibrations of the horses racing.
“People are not allowed to park in our street during the festival, we register our number plates, but my sister once got a fine because I forgot to tell her.”
Cheltenham, which will mark the 100th anniversary of its famed Gold Cup this week, sees riders and their horses cover more than three miles round the sprawling 350 acre venue.
It regularly attracts royals and celebrities, with racegoers expected to place more than £1billion worth of bets – and sink 300,000 pints of Guinness.
The racecourse is a mile from the centre of town, where the drinking continues in the pubs and wine bars into the small hours each day.
Racing fan Adrian Thomas used to live round the corner from his current home on the edge of the racecourse, but snapped up his house when it was built so he could be closer still.
The house is even named after a former Gold Cup winning horse, Lean Ar Aghaidh, which roughly translates to “come on you beauty”.
The 69-year-old retired teacher says: “We love living here and like to go to the races.
“It’s not a big deal as there are only 16 horse racing events each year, so although it can be noisy, it doesn’t bother us.
“We do go along but can also watch from the house, although we can’t see the finishing line, but you hear who’s won so it doesn’t matter.
“There are loads of other events going on, like the Witchwood Festival and the fireworks in November, so we’re in the best spot to watch them.”
Toilet dodgers
Bank compliance manager Andrew Johnson, 61, has lived next door to the racecourse for nine years but admits the days before the event can be disruptive.
He says: “I quite like the racing, but there is a lot of noise during the build-up with all the trucks arriving and the chaos of setting up.
“They do like to replay the races on the big screen and when they do that it’s really loud, but it’s not as loud as the cheering you hear from Cheltenham football club, which is a lot louder.
Andrew adds that ‘toilet dodgers’ can also be annoying – but he enjoys the perks of living so close.
“When bus-loads of people get dropped off during the festival they come over the bridge which leads to this estate to have a wee,” he says.
“It’s where the fence around the course is, and they could just use the toilets in the grounds.
“We have had perks from other events held there, like a pet charity which gave us free tickets to see Razorlight and Jessie J – a few more of those would be good.”
Lyn adds: “The downside is it can be very noisy when they test the tannoy system and there have been times when people walk up the path at the back of our house, but they usually turn back when they realise how muddy it is.
“Even though it doesn’t finish late, the lights are on all night, which is a lot of electricity and isn’t great for the environment.”
We have had perks from other events held there, like a pet charity which gave us free tickets to see Razorlight and Jessie J – a few more of those would be good
Andrew Johnson, Cheltenham resident
One resident who wanted to remain anonymous tells us the atmosphere during the festival is “incredible” – but posh punters who sup Champagne are the worst behaved.
“You can feel the anticipation and it’s a lot of fun,” they explain. “It brings a lot of business to the town and the visitors are mostly respectful and friendly, especially the Irish.
“The downside is we’re on the road near the entrance on the route into town and we’ve had people urinating in our back garden, even though there are plenty of toilets inside the races, which is disgusting.
“You can see men standing around every tree urinating in the park and they leave broken glass everywhere, like they’ve bought their Champagne glasses out and smashed them up where children will play.
“There’s been a lot of rubbish on the streets in the past, but we’ve had a letter from the organisers reassuring us they are providing more bins this year, which should help.”
Buzzing build-up
Harry Denham, 83, has lived in his house since 1984 and enjoys being around when the festival’s on.
“We’re not really a racing family but we have taken the grandchildren to a New Years race, and it’s a lot of fun,” he tells us.
“Everyone here likes the build-up to the festival. There’s a lot of atmosphere locally and it’s good for Cheltenham, everybody in the town makes a bit more money on the week that it’s on.”
We’re aware of the drunks leaving there at the end of the day, you can hear them shouting – once there was a parking cone thrown into my garden
Steve Willis, Cheltenham local
Retired police officer Steve Willis can’t see the racetrack from his house but lives very close to the grand entrance.
He says the festival is much better organised now it’s become more popular with regular punters.
“Cheltenham festival used to be different, it used to be hardened racegoers following the horses, but now it seems more like people go there to party and enjoy themselves,” he says.
“Years ago, it used to be a nightmare, but there’s more policing of it now so most people are well behaved.
“We’re aware of the drunks leaving there at the end of the day, you can hear them shouting – once there was a parking cone thrown into my garden.
“The traffic is bad so if we want to go out, we only do it after 1pm and before 4pm so we can avoid getting caught up in it.
“We like living here so we just have to deal with it.”
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