Ascot Things to Do

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About 10-15 minutes drive from Ascot. However, whilst its well signposted outside Windsor, they dry up as you get into the town. Very poor.

We only had 3 hours in the town, and needed to spend part of that having lunch. As a result we didn't go inside the castle. At 12 noon on a Sunday there was a queue, and at almost £40 (2 adults, 1 teenager) to get in we decided to come back when we have more time. Plus, as Royal Ascot had just finished, I thought the Queen might be in residence so some parts might be closed.

However, it was good just to be able to see the exterior.

It is the oldest & largest occupied castle in the world, and over 900 years old.

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At the start of each day's racing (2pm prompt) during the Royal Ascot meeting, the Queen and her guests parade along the centre of the finishing straight in open topped horse drawn carriages.

The procession then turns into the parade ring behind the stands, and they get out of their carriages to go up to the Royal Box inside the grandstand.

You'll get a good view of the procession from the stands - but make sure you get to a good spot early, or there'll be none left! For a close up, go to the parade ring or the pre-parade ring.

Royal Ascot is so called because the Royal family attend.
If you're in the right place at the right time you can see them arrive & depart.
The Queen Mother is in her own car (NLT 1), with am unmarked Metropolitan Police Rover following.

Ladies Day at Royal Ascot: 22nd June, 2006 - tickets start @ £65

Ascot Racecourse and the Royal Meeting are steeped in almost three centuries of tradition, heritage and prestige. It was Queen Anne who first saw the potential for a racecourse at Ascot, which in those days was called East Cote. Whilst out riding in 1711, she came upon an area of open heath, not far from Windsor Castle, that looked an ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch.” The first race meeting ever held at Ascot took place on Saturday 11 August 1711.

The first permanent building was erected in about 1794 by George Slingsby, a Windsor builder. Racing at Ascot was now secure. The precise origin of the Royal Meeting is unclear, it was an event that evolved perhaps, rather than was introduced at a specific time. Arguably, the meeting as we know it today started to take shape with the introduction of the Gold Cup in 1807. Gold Cup day remains the feature race of the third day of Royal Ascot and is traditionally the busiest day of the week. It is colloquially known as “Ladies’ Day,” as, in the formative years, it was the dominant day in terms of the racing, attracting the largest crowds and, it must be assumed from the emergence of the term “Ladies’ Day,” more ladies! Gold Cup Day remains the busiest day of the week but not by nearly as far as was once the case and the quality of the racing is equally high every day. The main Grandstands usually sell out well in advance all week.

Over the years dresscode has evolved into the wearing of morning suits and equally “respectable” clothes for Ladies, who must wear hats. It was during the 1820s that the Royal Enclosure as we might recognise it now was born. King George IV commissioned a two-storey Royal Stand to be built with a surrounding lawn, access to which was by invitation of the King. Here, he entertained his friends in style. In 1825, the Royal Procession as an annual tradition began.