There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance on SJ day so its not necessarily an early day but of course depends on how many are in SJ. Seems to me it wraps up around 3pm and then the awards ceremony - if it’s your first time it’s worth staying as they do up the awards quite nicely.
@Pezanos You need to consider that Sunday is the preferred day for maintenance work on the UK railways and that Sunday always has a reduced number of trains running anyway. Check what trains are available in the evening. I would suggest booking one after 19.00 (7 p.m.)
Booking the ticket well in advance reduces the price. It is possible to travel without a reserved seat but you might end up standing the entire journey if the train is packed with people returning from a weekend out of London. Chippenham is the closest station, on the same line as Bath Spa and Bristol Parkway. Kemble or Stroud are on a different route so will have a different timetable but are a bit further away from Badminton.
How are you getting to your station? As this probably involves a taxi you need to book one in advance. Being Sunday, there might be a reduced number of taxis available. There is a signed Drop Off Point in Badminton Village which taxis use. The Badminton website has a list of phone numbers for local taxi companies. They will probably be able to offer the best advice about timing.
The final presentations start at about 4 o’clock in the main arena. No one hangs about because it involves horses. The shopping remains open for an hour or so afterwards but everyone is clearing up as they are knackered after such an intense few days.
There will be 60,000 or so people in their cars leaving a greenfield site in a deeply rural location served by narrow, wiggly lanes. Traffic control has been much better in the past few years but it can still take an hour or so to reach the main roads.
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Thank you. That was exactly what I was looking for. It took at least an hour to get out of the parking at the Maryland 5* so I expected something like this. I have the names of the taxi companies too, just wanted a “boots on the ground” opinion about it all!
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