Riding near Burghley?

[jcc813]

Husband and I are planning a first-time trip to Burghley next year. We usually try to book some type of ride when we travel to the UK. We’ve done hunts in both England and Ireland, but it might be a little too early. A trail ride that’s more than nose-to-tail walking would be fine, too.

Can anyone recommend a good yard or company we could book through?

Also anything else in the area that might make it worth extending our stay a couple more days post-event? While I’ve visited several parts of England I’m less familiar with this area. We’ll also be with family who have never been to England or only seen London.

[Janet]

@jcc813

Also anything else in the area that might make it worth extending our stay a couple more days post-event?

There are plenty of things worth seeing in thet own of Stamford, including St Martins, in Stamford Baron. From Roman and medieval sites, to coaching inns, there is lots ofinteresting architecture. Stamford benefits from having once being very wealthy, but then being less prosperous, so there was little incentive to tear down the old.

A little further away, Peterborough Cathedral, and Oakham Castle (with many centuries of horse shoes), are both worth seeing. There are lots of interesting villages.

[Willesdon]

Newmarket is between London and Burghley. Racing HQ has the National Horse Racing Museum which is very good, the National Stud is on the edge of town, with stallions and some resident mares, and it does tours, the museum can help organise visits to trainers in town and to other studs. There are thousands of horses being trained on the heath each day and anyone can stand and watch them. It is a unique place.

[Willesdon]

Also, look at www.unicorntrails.co.uk as they also have rides in the UK. As a business, it was set up by a vet, all the staff have opportunity to experience the rides, it is rigorous in it’s welfare standards. They might be able to help you. I’m in the Cotswolds so not much use.

[jcc813]

Good suggestion. I actually did a holiday with Unicorn Trails years ago when I lived in the UK. Didn’t know the background on them!

[Baybear]

When we went to Burghley we stayed in Peterborough. I confess we didn’t spend much time there but what I saw would not necessarily make it a destination for me to visit. We did walk down to the cathedral and there were some good places to have dinner. Our hotel was great, some rooms had AC which was welcome as the weather was pretty warm.
Last year we decided to go to Badminton and stay on for Chatsworth. From Badminton, went to Bath for a couple of nights and then on up to Chatsworth. It’s a couple hour drive from Burghley but the house and grounds are stunning. The old stable now houses a variety of gift shops and a couple of places to grab a bite to eat. We stayed at the Peak’s Edge Hotel which has to be one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed. It’s a newer hotel but has a rustic feel. The restaurant is fabulous and staff is wonderful. My room had a Nespresso machine that inspired me to buy one upon my return home. That area of England is gorgeous and may be worth a night or two to tour around. Chatsworth House is where they filmed Pride & Prejudice w/ Keira Knightly. Lots of history with the house as well. The shops have some lovely things - good things to bring back for Christmas gifts etc.

[jcc813]

Thanks for the tip! We’ve already booked a place that’s closer to Oakham for our stay so hopefully there might be more of interest around there than Peterborough.

TBH I prefer the area closer to Badminton for touristy stuff but between the two events, I really wanted to go to Burghley.

Did you happen to tour Burghley house before/after the event?

[Baybear]

I don’t think Burghley House was open during the event and we left the area Monday so no time. But it would be fabulous to tour one time. We had lucked out with parking pass and one day parked pretty much at the front gates of the house. Stunning. Some of the course is fairly close to the house, also so fun to see the horses go under the bridge and thru the creek - note, that area is quite a popular viewing spot so can get crowded.

Also - not sure if you’ve done this but highly recommend getting the membership passes for the weekend. It’s nice to have a place to sit and relax (or get out of bad weather). We had about 6 in our group so it also made for a great meeting place if we decided to split off. The one thing I prefer about Badminton over Burghley is Badminton’s members is adjacent to the arena so you can sit outside and watch whereas Burghleys is a few yards away from the arena but they do have a jumbotron, live music so its very cheery.