I’ve been wearing boots a lot.
Have you ever thought about where horse racing started in the UK?
Yeah, me neither.
I did, however, end up there while housesitting with an adorable dog.
Newmarket in West Suffolk is a charming market town near Cambridge in the south of England.
The night before my house sit started, I stayed at a charming hotel. I searched for boutique hotels in the Cambridge area and this one was in the same town as my sit and much more affordable than anything in Cambridge (as it turns out this was probably due to the graduation ceremonies happening that week that I did not know about but definitely mentioned in my previous post). It also happened to be pretty posh. I only stayed one night but my experience at The Jockey Club Rooms was so nice. My stay included a cooked breakfast (with a gluten-free toast option!) in the dining rooms where you’re asked to not dress too casually. The historic building was lovely as were the staff. Now, if you don’t like paintings and statues of horses then this place might not be for you, but I grew up a bit of a horse girl so I enjoyed it. Anyway, this isn’t an ad (though I’d definitely return and do a better job of documenting it for a free stay) since I paid for this stay myself, but I am recommending searching “boutique hotels <insert town or city you’re traveling to>” whenever looking for unique and less corporate accommodations because you might find something surprising like this.
I spent a long weekend walking along the training grounds (and sometimes within them when the horses weren’t training) and even got to see young horses running.
The biggest thing I got from this part of my trip was a bit of relaxation and a chance to soak up a little summertime.
Follow along if you like and remember — Even tiny adventures matter.