The General Area

The city of Bath is the largest city in the county of Somerset. It sits 115 miles west of Central London, about 100 miles south west of Birmingham and just about 14 miles from Bristol. In 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also a university city.

Among the places of interest in Bath are:

Bath Abbey – http://www.bathabbey.org/

Museum of Bath Architecture – http://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk/

Victoria Art Gallery – https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/

Roman Baths – https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

In addition, Somerset is a beautiful county also hosting the towns of Taunton and Glastonbury. The nearby city of Bristol also has much to explore.

There are a wealth of shops, pubs, restaurants and places to stay in Bath and far too numerous to list on here. Websites such as Trip Advisor cover all of this very well and to suit all tastes

I personally stayed at Tracy Park in Wick and just three miles from the racecourse. It’s also a golf club which holds no interest for me but others may fancy it. Either way, it’s a lovely place to stay within easy reach of the racecourse.

 https://www.tracypark.co.uk/bath-hotel/

The Racecourse

Bath Racecourse is at Lansdown which is between Bath and Bristol. It’s just beautiful around there. It sits at 780 feet above sea level and is the third highest racecourse in the country after Hexham and Exeter. There has been racing here for over 200 years. The course accommodates only flat racing and does not currently have any Group races or Listed races on its calendar 

The course itself is a horseshoe shape of one and a half miles. This is a sharp left-handed track with a very tight turn into the straight. The home straight is four furlongs and is steadily uphill all the way to the winning line. There is an extension to the home straight for sprint races. The course favours front runners.

The statistics suggest that those drawn high in sprints have a distinct advantage. Given that they turn at a left hand dog-leg into the straight proper, lowest drawn being closer to that rail, that seems surprising, but the stats say otherwise.

Clerk of the course is currently Katie Stephens

Course telephone: 01225 424609

Getting here

There is a shuttle bus service which runs from near Bath Railway Station to the course. I understand the current cost of this is £5. If you fancy the walk, it’s a good couple of miles north of the city.

If driving then take J18 from M4. Postcode for Satnav is BA1 9BU

Racecourse Facilities

https://www.bath-racecourse.co.uk/

Most punters will go into the main grandstand which has a relaxed dress code and a splendid view of all the racing. It is also where the bookmakers’ pitches are. At some meetings there is a centre course area which would be nice for picnics etc., though doesn’t have a grandstand. I am told that the Roof Garden is very good but didn’t get to visit this time around. Entry prices will vary from meeting to meeting but it’s not expensive at all.

Food and drink here seems reasonably priced and what I had of it was pretty decent. I was personally quite taken by Castle And Bell which served a very good pie.

This Evening 

Not a single winner tonight but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Despite the current beautiful spell of weather, it was very overcast tonight and there was a very chilly breeze, probably not helped by the altitude of this course. Just something to bear in mind if you’re coming here.

As with Newmarket a couple of weeks ago, there was no restriction on where drinks were taken. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to allow drinks to be taken into the viewing and betting areas. But would also have to say that they seem a friendly lot down here and of course the crowd was only a fraction of that at Newmarket , so no problem really.

This was my first visit here and I will certainly come again. Salisbury tomorrow.