Liverpool

The City of Liverpool is in the north-west of England and sits on the banks of the River Mersey.

I’m not going to say too much about Liverpool. Not out of disrespect nor because there isn’t a lot to say. The City of Liverpool has a history as rich and diverse as anywhere really. In music, sport, industry and politics, Liverpool has had it’s say throughout the whole history of this country and it’s famous for so many reasons.

Being the city it is, there are a wealth of hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and bars to suit every taste and budget.

Here’s just a few places of interest:

Liverpool Cathedral – http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/

Casbah Coffee Club – http://www.petebest.com/casbah-coffee-club.aspx

The Cavern Club – https://www.cavernclub.org

British Music Experience – http://www.britishmusicexperience.com/

Merseyside Maritime Museum – http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/

The Racecourse

Aintree Racecourse hosts only National Hunt Racing.

There are two chase courses, both left handed. The Grand National circuit is two and one quarter miles. It is flat though has big fences with drop on landing side and a run-in of nearly 500 yards. The Mildmay Course is a flat one mile and three furlong circuit, using conventional fences. The hurdles course runs outside the Mildmay Chase course and is therefore not as sharp.

There are many prestigious races run here which of course include The Grand National in April of each year.

Clerk of the course: A J Tulloch

Course telephone number: 0151 523 2600

Getting Here

Aintree Racecourse is 225 miles from Central London, 102 miles from Birmingham, 183 miles from Bristol, 203 miles from Cardiff, 39 miles from Manchester and 210 miles from Edinburgh.

The racecourse is situated north of the city on Ormskirk Road and about a mile away from the M57 and M58 junction with the A59.

The course post code is L9 5AS.

Course parking is free.

The nearest railway station is Aintree Station which adjoins the course.

Racecourse facilities

Course website: http://aintree.thejockeyclub.co.uk/

Disabled access: http://aintree.thejockeyclub.co.uk/plan-your-race-day/visitor-information/disabled-access

There are a few different enclosures and reserved areas that are available at Aintree but today, pretty much everything was rolled into one and you could go where you like. That makes sense on a less busy day (though there were a fair few here) as people can spread out  more and everyone is more comfortable.

Behind the stands can be found the parade ring area and lots of space for people to spread out a bit. There was lots of entertainment on show before racing and that helped create a better atmosphere.

There are bars everywhere and they were all open so no problems queuing for too long for those fancying a beer or two. There was just loads of places to buy food and drinks and some were even double up so not too much queuing to be fair. Personally, I tried the pulled pork and it was right on the money, I must say.

My Day

I must be honest and say that I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy today. I have visited Aintree twice before on Grand National day and really didn’t like the crowd. But today, although busy enough was comfortable and I had the chance of a good walk around. There is a real sense of history here similar to what I felt at Epsom. Seeing a statue to Sir Peter O’Sullevan, a man I had the pleasure of meeting once gave me real satisfaction.

I half fancied a few today and let most of them go and backed just the one and that was Frodon, ridden by wonderful Bryony Frost and trained by the equally wonderful Paul Nicholls. If I was picking a list of horses to follow this jumps season, Frodon would be in it. Both he and his jockey showed a guts and determination today to hold off persistent challengers to the cry’s of ‘Go on lass’ coming from the crowd. Brilliant stuff!

The ones I didn’t back all went to make up my placepot which, typically for me, went down in the last.

Probably Huntingdon next Sunday to continue this journey.