The cost of living crisis is enough to knock the stuffing out of having a day at the races.
Nothing’s cheap, hey. But it’s good to get to the races once in a while else you can go stir crazy.
But here’s a question: ‘How do you have a decent day at the races on the cheap and stay the night in a swanky hotel while enjoying a James Bond experience playing roulette for free?’
Is it Mission Impossible?
As regulars to Great Yarmouth horse racing I was disappointed to see the premier ticket for the Eastern Festival in September cost £32. I hate to complain but it’s a scandalous price for entry to a pretty average course. I love the track but I never thought I’d see the day when it was cranked up to that level.
However, our group of friends enjoy going to Great Yarmouth as it’s a bit of a gambling haunt and being on the Norfolk coast there’s plenty of entertainment.
Here’s my ‘cheap as chips’ way to enjoying a day at the races. This relates to my brother and I heading from March, in Cambridgeshire to Great Yarmouth.
Using a two to together rail card we get an open return for £39. It’s a decent journey which takes just over a couple of hours, changing at Ely and Norwich. From there, we head to the Feathers Public House located at Market Gates. It’s a friendly place and cheap beer. It’s a better option than drinking at the track as it costs about £7 a pint. I think a pint in the Feathers costs under £3.
Alternatively, you can go to Wetherspoon’s Troll Cart.
After a little libation, we get a taxi (usually Albies) to the track for a couple of quid each (definitely as cheap as a bus if three or four) and head to the Grandstand entrance. That costs £18 when booked in advance (£3 per booking fee). You get a race card and keep your badge as it’s worth a free pint later in the evening.
After a day at the races (betting or not) have a walk around the corner to the Avenue Pub for a quick pint and get a bus or taxi to the Carlton Hotel, Marine Parade. This hotel, especially out of season is exceptional value. A twin room with a sea view, and breakfast included, costs an incredible £44. The Carlton has a bar, entertainment, a clunky old lift but clean and tidy rooms, although, generally, dirty windows with all those seagulls.
Just one hundred metres down the road, you will find the Grosvenor Casino. It’s a great place to go for a cheap meal (they want to get you in the door to lose all your money). This listed building is like the setting of Casino Royale. Remember that racecourse badge? Take it to the cash desk in the gaming room and they will give you a voucher for a free alcoholic drink and free bet on the roulette to win a tenner. As one of the bookies on course use to shout at holidaymakers: ‘Money without work!’
That’s how to have a cheap day at the races and enjoy a night at the casino with a meal and breakfast before a return home.
At most it should cost you £80 per person.
Cheap as chips.