Newcastle Racecourse — Attraction in Newcastle upon Tyne

Fantastic experience, cant wait for plate day 2025 !! The new VIP centre course was such a relaxing atmosphere, well done to all who planned this event . FAST FORWARD 12 AND WHAT A LWT DOWN . We went to plate day 2024 and we had vip centre course tickets and it was amazing and worth every penny , fast forward 12 months and it’s an absolute nightmare , so over crowded and it felt nothing like vip there’s about enough benches for 50 people and there’s about 300 people , massive queues at the bar and food , it seems to me like they just want to make as much money as humanly possible with no care what so eve for the paying customers . To top it off you’re looking at 7.50 for a watered down beer in the most horrific plastic glasses you have ever seen . 95.00 a ticket and il be honest I wouldn’t want to experience that again of the tickets were free . 2024 was just so chilled out , no big queues with decent hard plastic glasses but they have obviously changed things for 2025 and like I say it was so bad , about 40% of the people were just standing all day including a friend I was with who is 73 years old , when you pay for vip that exactly what you should get or at least get a seat and be able to enjoy the day unfortunately that was not the case . On a plus point mr whyte who was providing the entertainment was outstanding I asked him to play fleetwood Mack the chain and it was truly amazing . What a difference between 2024 and 2025 and because of this I will not be returning , 100 pound tickets to stand all day in a very...

Attended Plate day. We had booked the premiere enclosure with a two course meal included in the price at the The Grand hotel. Couldn't fault the meal, the food and the service was very good. However after a long walk to the premiere enclosure we found there were no seats at all and no hope of getting one. There were thousands of people and less than a hundred tables. The first race wasn't until 1.50. God knows what time those people arrived to get a seat. The three of us stood on the grass in our finery waiting for our men folk getting a drink. They got back 40 minutes later!!! The queue was under a plastic roof (not the best in that heat). One of them stood in a different queue for 25 minutes and when he got to the front was told they'd run out of gas and the drink his wife wanted. This went on for the rest of the day. Between queueing for drinks bets and toilets they didn't see a single race. Come on Newcastle Races you must have known how many people were going to be there and could have had extra staff. You should also either point out on the tickets that you recommend people bring something to sit on or even better provide more seats. We paid a lot of money for premiere enclosure but ended up in front of the winners circle far away from the track so we could sit on the stone steps (there was just enough room left for 3). 9 hours is a hell of a long...

We attended the Living North Christmas Fair - North East on the 28th October. Purchased tickets online which saved queuing. Well organised, plenty of stewards to guide you to ample parking areas. Friendly, helpful staff on main entrance. The general stalls were on the first floor, there was a lift for people who couldn't manage the stairs. There was a diverse collection of goods... wood carved items, pottery, prints/ pictures, ornaments, handbags, gloves, scarfs, jewelry, clothing, socks, cards, candles lamps made from recycled items, even leather restorer and much more. I did think there would have been more Xmas themed stalls... not a Santa in sight ... an empty sleigh ?? The food and drink stands were on the ground floor, plenty of samples .... the alcoholic ones were particularly popular. An array of flavoured gins, vodkas, whiskies and liqueurs also beers. The food items all looked delicious, flavoured cheeses, bread, cakes, jams, marmalade, pickles, a selection of Indian cuisine something to suit all tastes. The only down side was all the eateries and drinking area were full which meant we left earlier ... would have looked around longer if we could have had some refreshments....