'You don't wait two hours to get out of Wembley' - Cheltenham racegoers on the festival experience

Racegoers have blamed the cost of living crisis and the expense of attending the festival for the dip in crowd numbers this week. The official attendance across the first three days was 173,100, down by 33,652 from last year, with a notable drop of 14,044 on Wednesday.

Cheltenham's director Ian Renton said on Thursday he believed the dip in attendance was primarily caused by a two-day teacher strike and train strike.

Tickets for Gold Cup day sold out in January and among those in attendance were festival regulars John and Graham Wilson from Scotland. Because of the cost of accommodation in the town centre, the two have commuted an hour each way from Stratford-upon-Avon for every day of the festival.

Graham Wilson picked up on the quieter atmosphere on course and said: "It's not cheap to attend, especially during a cost of living crisis. There are other factors too. The weather's been cold and we've had train strikes. Also, I'm not sure so many Irish have travelled over this year."

There were complaints about long queues for toilets and bars at last year's festival, but John Wilson thought there had been a big improvement. He said: "The bars have been good and the number of people they've got working behind them have been great. That's made life a lot easier for people. The only issue was the car park. It took us two hours to get out last night. There are 60,000 people at Wembley but you don't wait two hours to get out."

Festival racegoers congregate outside the Guinness VillageCredit: Edward Whitaker

Clare Watts, who travelled down from the Midlands, said the price of the ticket was reasonable but the cost of food and drink may have put people off. She said: "I paid about £50 for my ticket, which is about what I'd expect. But the costs add up when you're here, which may have influenced the size of the crowd. It can become an expensive day out with travelling here, food and drink and placing your bets but it's my favourite week of the year and I wouldn't miss it."

The maximum crowd for each day at the meeting has been capped at 68,500 this year with the aim of improving the racegoer experience, and Andrew Fry, who is attending his 25th festival, believes things have improved, particularly with the racecourse redevelopment in 2015.

He said: "I'm surprised to hear there was such a notable drop on Tuesday. It didn't feel any less busy on the ground but I was still able to place bets and get a drink. Thursday felt a bit quieter. 

"Overall the experience has improved. I was here before they renovated the site and it was awful. The facilities didn't match the popularity. It was bad. Some years I'd spend an hour bursting to go to the toilet and you couldn't find one but now it's much easier and to move around."

Read these next:

Cost of living crisis blamed for alarming drop in Cheltenham crowd figures - but officials 'not worried' 

'The strikes have definitely had an impact' - Cheltenham boss reacts to big drop in crowds 

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