Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth is a seaside resort on the east coast of England in the beautiful county of Norfolk. The seafront is characterised by lots of amusement arcades, guest houses and Fish and Chip shops. There are opportunities for boat trips at points along the long beach. The town centre is only a short walk back from the beach and has all the usual high street shops, banks and cafes. There are plenty of places to stay, to eat and to drink.

I personally stayed at a Guest House in Wellesley Road called ‘The Cleasewood’ and I will readily recommend it. Debbie and Arthur offer a very warm welcome, clean rooms with good facilities and an excellent breakfast to set you up for the day. The guest house itself is well located only a short walk to both the town centre and the seafront.

Norfolk itself has lots to offer. Within fairly easy reach of Great Yarmouth are The Norfolk Broads, The City of Norwich and the market town of Kings Lynn. On the north coast of Norfolk are the coastal towns of Cromer, Well-Next-The Sea and the area called The Wash. The following websites will help you discover more about these areas.

Norfolk Broads: http://www.visitthebroads.co.uk/

Norwich: https://www.visitnorwich.co.uk/

Kings Lynn: http://www.kingslynnonline.com/

Cromer: https://www.visitnorthnorfolk.com/places/cromer.aspx

Wells-Next-The-Sea: https://www.wells-guide.co.uk/

The Wash: http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/yorkshire/the_wash/

As well as horse racing, Great Yarmouth also hosts Greyhound Racing. The nearest major football team are Norwich City who play at Carrow Road in Norwich

The Racecourse

Great Yarmouth is a left handed oval and galloping track of approximately 1m 5f. It has a run in of 5f. The home straight has an extension to provide a straight mile course. Apart from a slight dip just before turning for home, the track is quite flat.

The only draw bias at Yarmouth appears to be over 5f where a high draw is advantageous on good and firm ground and a low draw best on soft going.

The course stages only flat racing.

The Clerk Of The Course is currently Richard Aldous.

The telephone number of the course is 01493 842527.

Getting There

Great Yarmouth is accessed by road using the A47 from Norwich or A12 coming from the South. Great Yarmouth is about 135 miles from London, 180 miles from Birmingham and just over 20 miles from Norwich.  The postcode for your Satnav is NR30 4AU

The Railway Station is about 1.5 miles. I’m not aware of any bus service though there are plenty of taxis available.

If you fancy the walk out from town on a nice day then don’t be put off. Walk along the seafront going North until you get to Jellicoe Road and then turn left and the course is just a few minutes walk from there.

Racecourse Facilities

This is quite a small racecourse.

There are two enclosures at Great Yarmouth, The Premier Enclosure and The Grandstand and Paddock Enclosures. The dress code for The Premier Enclosure is smart casual.

Disabled access: https://www.greatyarmouth-racecourse.co.uk/plan-your-visit/venue-accessibility/

The racecourse has all the usual facilities for eating and drinking. I really liked the look of the Trafalgar Restaurant and tried to get in but it was unsurprisingly booked up. The Victory Bar next door is nice and has it’s own little viewing balcony right outside. But I would have to say that £4.80 for a pint of Guinness is too much.

The staff in all areas here are very friendly and willing to help

My Day

I can’t say that there was anything outstanding here but at the same time, there was nothing bad other than I thought it was generally expensive for such a small track. Most racecourses and other venues discourage people from bringing their own food and drink with them. There would be no better way of achieving this than to make your own products more reasonably priced.

The best plus point was how obliging the people working here are and that’s very important, to me anyway. I would come again.

On the betting front, five bets produced two winners, albeit at short odds and barely a profit but a profit nonetheless.

Newmarket July Course tomorrow and the start of the July Festival.