CAMBRIDGE & EAST ANGLIA - England 2012 and the Best of Wales - page 507

world and part of the English social calendar. Races take place in June, July, and
August, highlighted by the July Cup. The Rowley Mile, the “Course of Champions,”
is the focus for spring and fall races with some of the highest-class races in the world.
Prestige events include the Guineas Races, the Cesarewitch Handicap, and the
Champion Stakes.
Newmarket Racecourses, Westfield House, The Links, Newmarket. & 0844/579-3010. www.new
marketracecourses.co.uk. Ticket prices vary, but are around £10 to £40; online bookings receive a
20% discount. Free for children 17 and under.
Where to Eat & Stay
Best Western Heath Court Hotel This hotel is close to the Gallops, the exer-
cise area for stables at Newmarket Heath, and a short walk from town. It's very popu-
lar during the horse-racing season. The Carvery has a pub-like atmosphere and is
open for lunch and dinner on weekdays, dinner on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday.
Bertie's Restaurant has a wide choice of snacks and meals.
Moulton Rd., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8DY. www.heathcourthotel.com. & 01638/667171 or 800/780-
7234 in the U.S. and Canada. Fax [phone] units. £60-£172 double; £105-£172 studio; £65-
£214 family room; £125-£269 suite. Extra bed £40. AE, DC, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Restaurant;
bar; room service. In room: TV/DVD, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).
Rutland Arms Hotel This old Georgian building, once a coaching inn and built
around a cobbled courtyard, retains a lot of character and is in the heart of Newmar-
ket. It has elegant en suite bedrooms, the reasonably priced Carriages restaurant,
and the Nell Gwynn lounge bar with open fires in winter.
33 High St., Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8NB. www.oxfordhotelsandinns.com. & 01638/664251. Fax 01638/
666298. 46 units. £55-£68 double. Rates include English breakfast. MC, V. Free parking. Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; room service. In room: TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (£3 per hr.).
Swynford Paddocks This is a beautiful 17th-century country house where
Lord Byron once lived and worked. The grounds overlook a stud farm and are idyllic,
while the luxury hotel is known for its individually designed rooms, each named after
a racing great and some with four-poster beds and claw-foot baths. Silks Brasserie,
a conservatory with a wooden floor and a colonial touch, serves lunch and dinner.
Children's meals are available. There is also outdoor dining and afternoon tea.
London Rd., Six Mile Bottom, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 0UE. www.swynfordpaddocks.com. & 01638/
570234. Fax [phone] units. £135-£175 double; prices rise during races. Rates include English
breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; room service. In room: TV, hair
dryer, Wi-Fi (free).

13

SAFFRON WALDEN
40 miles NE of London; 14 miles SE of Cambridge
The town is named after the saffron crocus, harvested here to make dye for East
Anglia's pre-industrial textile-makers, and it is now one of the best-preserved medi-
eval market towns in Britain. There is also Georgian architecture (and it's not totally
free from modern additions), but concentrate on the half-timbered buildings, many
filled with antiques shops and galleries. You'll want to see the spectacular St. Mary
the Virgin Church, award-winning Saffron Walden Museum, the ruined mote-
and-bailey castle, and the ancient turf maze on the common nearby. Fry Public Art
Gallery is fascinating and Bridge End Garden a surprise treat, and there are color-
ful stalls on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the Market Place. A Country Market takes