I am looking for some input. I am planning a trip to Burghley (first timer) next year alone and would love any advice on where to stay that wont break the bank. I dont need anything fancy, just safe. Also looking to find some other eventers either from the states or over in the UK to meet up with while I am over there.
You may find it easier to go with a group.
Good for you! I went for the first time this year, suffice to stay we’re toying with the idea of going back next year we enjoyed it so much. believe it or not, many of the hotels are already booked for 2020! Some of us are booked at Talbot Inn in Oundle and others at Bell Inn in Stilton (as in Stilton cheese, yum!). Both are about a 25 minute drive to Burghley House. The Talbot also offers cute single twin room which offered at a pretty good price- another bonus I supposedly it’s haunted and as far as I’m concerned if you’re going to be traveling in the UK, Ireland at least one place has to come with a ghost. HAHA. The closest town is Stamford and I know many places are already booked but you may have luck since you need 1 room vs a group needing more rooms. This year we stayed at the Bull Hotel in Peterborough which was a nice hotel, though there is nothing special about staying in Peterborough - other than a beautiful cathedral. The meals at the Bull were really good - and you could eat in the bar area or in the restaurant.
You can catch the train from Heathrow to Peterborough or Stamford I’m not sure about Oundle or Stilton though. We opted to book a taxi from the airport to hotel since I found a good company/price which was about the same cost as the train when divided between us= and it was nice not having to deal with train tickets, transfers etc after a red eye flight.
We also opted for the membership package - which included a members enclosure badge, admission to all 4 days and an excellent parking location (one day we were smack in front of the Burghley House). The package also included a guest badge and tickets - but no parking pass. It was well worth the cost - which was probably about $250? Since you never know what the weather might be it’s nice to have the option of seeking cover. Since we had a good sized group it was easy to meet up there when we parted ways. Having the parking closeby was also great since we could throw in rain gear /coats if the weather turned - or some days it started off chilly and got warm later so we could ditch our jackets. The members area had 2 restaurants, a coffee/tea/pastry area and of course a couple of bars. No food or beverages were included in the membership which is fine - there are plenty of good food trucks all over the place - including several areas on the XC course it’s nice not to have to be committed to one spot. They also served breakfast in the members tent - we ate at our hotel.
Hope this helps.
When it gets closer - you could probably do a post about who’s going and plan a meet up on this forum too.
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This year we stayed at the Bull Hotel in Peterborough which was a nice hotel, though there is nothing special about staying in Peterborough -
😂😂😂😂😂 I had an aunt who lived there…she said the same about living there.
I stayed at the Crown Inn in Elton. It’s a little village pub with a few rooms in the back. Rooms were very very nice and it was a pretty drive to the event. Good food the few times we ate there. It’s hard to find hotels nearby. They book well in advance.
@gottagrey I would love to find people to go with or meet up with. I have never traveled outside the country and am nervous to go alone, but I don’t have reliable friends. I will look into the places you have listed and see if I have any luck.
I had no difficulty finding, quite close to the date, a bed & breakfast in Peterborough. I took the train to Peterborough. and picked up a rental car there, then drove to Burghley each day.
I travelled on my own, but met up with a bunch of COTHers for dinner at the Bull in Peterborough, and at Burghley.
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@Janet where did you stay? I would love to chat with you more about your solo trip if you are up for it.
You can absolutely do it solo. I’ve done it many times, with friends and on my own. If you don’t want to drive (I would recommend not, if it’s your first time overseas), stay in Peterborough. If you’re only going for Burghley, it’s perfectly fine. Does it have the charm of other English towns? No, but at the end of the day you’re so tired it doesn’t matter! You can walk to Burghley from the Stamford station.
The train goes direct from Peterborough to Stamford, about 10-15 minutes. Except on Sunday…the trains don’t work with the stadium times, so you’ll need a cab. I think it was around 20 pounds?
Definitely do it! It’s well worth it!
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Honestly I did not find driving hard at all. I even drove in London. It just takes a little thought when you first get in the car. Traveling alone is fun for me. You get to do what you want when you want. It’s not hard to meet people when you are there too. You will have fun.
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On the money end what was the total cost for those that went solo? If I don’t have to rent a car I would rather not but can factor that in the cost as well.
I honestly can’t remember…I think I’ve blocked it out. I was not solo (although I’ve traveled to England solo on other trips) and I had a friend competing the first time and a horse I owned competing the second time (and that was so expensive that my own travel costs just paled in comparison.
I also always did other things…I drove around and visited a lot of tourist sites and spent time in London. Second trip, I also went to Blenheim which was a super fun event. I highly recommend taking a bit of extra time either before or after to do some sightseeing.
We went but only for XC day. We stayed in an AirBNB in London and took the train from King Cross Station to Peterborogh and then to Stamford. The trip took about 90 minutes and was very cheap. I think we leftt london around 7 and were at Burghley well before XC started. On Saturdays you don’t even have to have set time ticket on the return, they are open tickets. We left at the end of XC and were back in London in time for dinner.
I’ve stayed in London for Burghley and Badminton. I am there usually for several days to a week. I like the availability of options for food, lodging and entertainment that London provides.
I’ve been twice, both times with my mother and we stayed in Peterborough.
The 2nd time was last year and we stayed at the Great Northern hotel, literally right across the street from the train station. It could not have been easier.
It’s a 10 minute train ride to Stamford and about a 20 minute walk from the Stamford train station to the show grounds. You don’t need a car. Also next door to the hotel is a Waitrose supermarket, we didn’t even go out to dinner after each day, just bought some sandwiches, chips and drinks from the supermarket! My mother is in her 80s also btw.
I’m also hoping to go in 2020 and would be going solo, so this is all great advice! For those who traveled without a car, how did you navigate getting dinner, etc. once you were back at your hotel? Are things walkable?
I mean it’s weird like the Bull hotel was built in like the 1800’s or something the the storefronts surrounding it look like 1960’s downtown any city anywhere.
we should chat! Maybe we could make plans to meet up or possibly stay together.
Consider flying into Birmingham airport rather than London. Smaller regional one, therefore quieter to navigate and only about an hour from Stamford and Burghley House.
We did an AirBNB in Peterborough (split 3 ways) and took the train back and forth to/from Stamford each day. Some locals showed us a back gate shortcut from the train station to the grounds so it was only a 10-15 minute walk. I was definitely glad to NOT be driving, especially on XC day. It took some people hours to get out. The train was easy and stress free.
There are a lot of restaurants and a few grocery stores in Peterborough, all walkable. The town itself is definitely nothing to write home about but it worked out fine as a “home base”. We went to the grocery store the first day and stocked up on stuff for breakfast/lunch then went out to dinner each night so we could chat and have drinks. I loved how we did it, it was a fun trip and not crazy expensive.
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I went over for the first time this year, and I was solo. I’d driven once before (to Badminton!) and found it not too difficult if you focus (but not on oncoming cars!). I spent a few days in London, popped into Cambridge for the day (there’s a park and ride lot and you ride the bus into town for a few pounds), then continued on to Peterborough and stayed at the Bull Hotel. It’s a cute town with enough food options, a mall and a gorgeous cathedral. Not a classic British country town, but I was hardly there anyways.
I would definitely pay the 10 pounds for a radio headset. It was so useful to know what was going on on cross-country day when I couldn’t hear the announcer, and the commentators are so informative and hilarious.
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