Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway - access to Cheltenham?

[SeanG]

Hello

We are looking at going on holiday to the Cotswolds this summer and go to the GWSR. How easy is it to get from Cheltenham Race Course to the centre of Cheltenham?

Thanks

 

[JonathanH]

Hello

We are looking at going on holiday to the Cotswolds this summer and go to the GWSR. How easy is it to get from Cheltenham Race Course to the centre of Cheltenham?

Thanks

It is about two miles so walkable for most people. However, there is a fairly uphill bit out of the station along the access road for the racecourse before the fairly flat walk into Cheltenham.

Bus services run fairly frequently from the nearby main road but that doesn't avoid the walk through the grounds of the racecourse.

More detail here
https://www.gwsr.com/planning_your_visit/finding_us/public_transport.html

Cheltenham Race Course Station GL50 4SH

The nearest mainline railway station to the GWSR is Cheltenham Spa. Stagecoach services D and E operate from Monday to Saturday from the forecourt of Cheltenham Spa railway station to Cheltenham Race Course Park & Ride, with a bus every 15 minutes.

The Park & Ride is about a half a mile walk to the GWSR Cheltenham Race Course station. The walk is along the racecourse internal road, and is sign-posted. Our booking office is at road level, whilst the platforms and main station buildings are reached by a slope. Visitors who prefer not to walk are advised to either use a taxi or to use Winchcombe or Toddington station instead.

On Sundays and Bank Holidays, Stagecoach service D operates every 20 minutes.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

The walk through the grounds of the Racecourse is, to me, one of those "it's getting nearer, it's getting nearer ... oh, no, it's not" ones, as it always takes quite a while! It's worth it when you get there, though!

 

[AndyB28]

I have a feeling the thread title may have caused some unwarranted excitement...

 

[ainsworth74]

It is about two miles so walkable for most people.

Though it can be quite sweaty on a hot day like it was when I did it! Good walk, especially closer to the centre where the old alignment is still walkable but depends on the individual. I'd also echo the person who said that the walk through the grounds appears to go on and on and on...

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I've done the walk between Cheltenham Spa station and the town centre both ways, and it's very pleasant. It doesn't seem to be as long as the road (although I may be wrong, as I've never looked at the measurements), and it's a good deal quieter!

 

[leytongabriel]

There is also a town bus which drops you off at Cheltenham Racecourse Park and Ride - then walk through the racecourse as described.
Available on PlusBus with your rail ticket.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If you want to walk it, just under a couple of miles from the Racecourse station at Cheltenham into the town centre / town hall area, and another mile on top from there if you're then continuing to the mainline station.

 

[30907]

There is also a town bus which drops you off at Cheltenham Racecourse Park and Ride - then walk through the racecourse as described.
Available on PlusBus with your rail ticket.

Though not if it's a GWSR one, which I understood to be the OP's plan.

 

[GoneSouth]

I've done the walk between Cheltenham Spa station and the town centre both ways, and it's very pleasant. It doesn't seem to be as long as the road (although I may be wrong, as I've never looked at the measurements), and it's a good deal quieter!

Just to clarify, the original question referred to Cheltenham Race Course station on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, not Cheltenham Spa mainline BR station.

Hello

We are looking at going on holiday to the Cotswolds this summer and go to the GWSR. How easy is it to get from Cheltenham Race Course to the centre of Cheltenham?

Thanks

Walk from the Racecoarse station to the racecourse park and ride where you can catch the D or E Stagecoach service to the centre of town. However, if it’s a nice day Pittville Park is a pleasant place to take a walk on the way into town. Timetable for the bus linked below.

https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/West/2021/DE190921.pdf