Rural walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a walk around the village of Dalham near Newmarket. 

Newmarket (the home of horse racing) - NOT amateur radio

Most of our grocery shopping is done in Newmarket, about 6km away. 

It is world famous as the home of horse racing.  In Newmarket everything stops for horses! It is rare to go there and not see horses!

The ones in the photo were out for their morning exercise on the heath.

Newmarket Flowers - NOT amateur radio

Newmarket is the world capital of horseracing. They also have some great flower displays. 

Those in the photo are near the Guineas shopping centre.  The hanging baskets are usually good too.

Local History - NOT amateur radio

Even though we have lived in this area (East Cambridgeshire) for almost 50 years, it is natural to have a "pull" to where one originates from. In my case this is South Devon and my wife Sheffield.

Today we went to an interesting talk on the history of Newmarket, which is our nearest town. Considering its many royal connections going back many centuries and it being the worldwide centre for horse racing, it is quite scruffy. With all the wealth around we would have expected the town to be quite a classy place. Sadly it is not.

They have a good local history society.

See http://www.newmarketlhs.org.uk/Index.htm

Newmarket - NOT amateur radio

This is our "local" town where we do most of our food shopping. Considering it is world famous as the home of racing, it is actually quite an average sort of place that could do far more to make it look better.

There are lots of short people (jockeys) and drivers of "Chelsea Tractors" who own studs or racehorses or train these.

Considering the wealth some of these people must have, I am quite surprised Newmarket isn't a really splendid town. The photo shows Newmarket High Street on an average weekday.

Newmarket - NOT amateur radio

We live about 4 miles from Newmarket, which is the horse racing capital of the world. The area is surrounded by studs, many of which are owned by rich Arab sheiks.

We do most of our food shopping in Newmarket. In this town, the horse is king and cars often give way to passing strings of horses being exercised. 

A trip up to Newmarket Heath is often accompanied by horses galloping.

Newmarket - NOT amateur radio

This pedestrianised shopping area in Newmarket was once called "The Rookery" but it is now called "The Guineas". There are horses everywhere! Newmarket is the home of horseracing. We do most of our food shopping here.

Horses in Newmarket - NOT amateur radio

We do most of our food shopping in nearby Newmarket, which is the world home of horse racing. Here everything stops for the horses! We don't mind. This was a string returning from Newmarket  Heath earlier today. It is unusual not to see race horses in Newkmarket.

Much of the land around Newmarket is studs. Many are owned by rich Arabs. The fences alone must run into thousands of pounds, if not millions. To the south of the town are the rolling hills of Suffolk and the countryside is delightful. Newmarket is a right mix of people: jockeys (who tend to be short!) and owners who are very wealthy. Then there are people like me!

Newmarket - NOT amateur radio

Newmarket Horses

Newmarket, the worldwide home of horse racing, is just 4 miles away. We do most of our food shopping there - mostly in Waitrose and sometimes at Tesco. Today we drove through Newmarket and did a walk at nearby Dalham, which is a real "chocolate box" village filled with thatched cottages. A hundred and fifty years ago these would have been tithed cottages for agricultural workers living in abject and grinding poverty. These days they are worth a small fortune and they are probably homes for the well grounded.  Many may be second homes for people coming to Newmarket for the races.