CHELTENHAM festival parking was today branded a “rip off” as punters who shelled out £30 for a spot were left stranded in mud-wrangled fields for “three hours”.
Racegoers have vowed to sack off day two of the festival after torrential downpours sparked “total gridlock” as some 68,000 guests headed for the exits on Tuesday.
@stephen_jury/TwitterVideos shared online showed vehicles wheel-spinning in ankle deep mud as chants of ‘you’re not going home’ went up[/caption]
Paul EdwardsTractors were scrambled on Wednesday morning to haul cars from the mud[/caption]
Cheltenham said 100mm of rainfall in February left fields waterlogged and saturated.
Despite attempts to mitigate the chaos with trackways and stewarding for the estimated 36,500 parked vehicles, organisers were left in a losing battle against the elements.
Videos shared online showed cars wheel-spinning in ankle deep mud as chants of “you’re not going home” went up.
Other clips showed motorists trying in vain to push their cars out of trenches while tractors were scrambled to assist those in distress.
Despite assurances from Cheltenham’s organisers, bedraggled members of the public found themselves marshalling cars themselves.
The misery left some vowing never to return, with one punter saying: “Won’t be going again coz of it.”
A second added: “Yet another reason not to go anymore.”
While a third blasted: “Once again, zero traffic management leaving Cheltenham Races, just a free for all, so many roads closed, no signs.
“Sent us out the car park, only to then turn us around and send us all the way around in a loop and queue to get out another car park. Always ruins a great day.”
It wasn’t just the car parks hammered either, as guests on shuttle buses said the service turned into a “total gimmick”.
No cars moving at all, stuck everywhere with no help. £30 per car. Come racing they say
Jake Russell, race-goer
One revealed: “Trying to get to the course on the shuttle bus was a nightmare as well, ended up jumping off at 12:40 to walk the rest of the way.
“Hundreds seemed to be doing the same, total gridlock.”
Despite frustration over parking, Cheltenham Festival remains one of the most popular events in the racing calendar.
Over 250,000 spectators are expected to descend on the racecourse over four days.
The festival culminates with the world-famous Gold Cup on Friday.
‘ABSOLUTE BEDLAM’
Sharing a video of last night’s misery on X, Jake Russell said he was stuck marshalling cars for over two hours before he left.
He said: “Absolute bedlam in the car park. No cars moving at all, stuck everywhere with no help. £30 per car. Come racing they say!”
One woman claimed she ended up doing her emails for “three hours” as she waited to leave the Gloucestershire racecourse last night.
Other punters blasted the £30 they had shelled out on parking only to find them stuck and unable to leave.
WEDNESDAY RACE TIMES
Four of the other six races will take place at revised times following the cancellation of the Cross Country Chase.
The first race of the day will kick off 15 minutes later than scheduled.
The last two races of the day, which were scheduled to take place after the Cross Country Chase, will be held at the same time.
Race 1: 1.45pm
Race 2: 2.30pm
Race 3: 3.15pm
Race 4: 4pm
Race 5: N/A
Race 6: 4.50pm
Race 7: 5.30pm
Matt Chapman fumed online: “It is unacceptable for sure. Just puts people off coming.”
While Jeffrey Syne added: “Cheltenham doesn’t care as long as they make their money!!”
A third said: “If you’re paying for a service/product, which car parking is, surely it needs to be fit for purpose?”
The chaos appeared to spill out into the surrounding areas as punters accused the council and stewards of losing control of the event.
One said: “What have the Local council done to the roads around Cheltenham! Absolute chaos!
“They’ve deputised loads of clueless stewards, shut various roads diverting traffic into bottle necks.
Yet another reason not to go anymore
Livid Cheltenham punter
“I walked the last 2 miles thankfully, because there is now utter carnage stuck in the mud!”
Cheltenham today revealed pay-on-the-day parking had closed as car parks were left destroyed during last nights carnage.
It is unclear if alternative parking has been provided.
A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse told The Sun: “Many of our car parks are on grass and due to one of the wettest winters on record, with more than 100mm of rainfall in February alone, they are saturated.
“Our team have worked hard to ensure the areas available to us are usable for our racegoers by laying 40,000 square metres of additional trackway in the most vulnerable areas.
“A number of tractors are available throughout the week to support racegoers whose vehicles require assistance and this was the case on Tuesday.
“We would like to remind all racegoers that car park passes for all four days sold out before The Festival began and any visitors who have not already purchased them should make alternative arrangements.
“We advise all our racegoers to dress for the weather, arrive in plenty of time to ensure a smooth arrival and to be patient with our teams on the ground as they work in difficult conditions.”
PAThe misery left some vowing never to return, with one punter saying: ‘Won’t be going again coz of it’[/caption]
Paul EdwardsMud trenches cover the racecourse car parks on Wednesday[/caption]
Paul EdwardsCheltenham aid they tried to mitigate the impacts of over 100mm of rainfall in February[/caption]
Paul EdwardsA car was dragged out the mud on Wednesday at Cheltenham Racecourse[/caption]