Cheltenham

Cheltenham is an historic spa town in England, which started its development in the early 1700s with the discovery of healing waters. It became very popular after the visit of King George III in 1788, and developed further. You cannot take the waters in Cheltenham, but you can visit the Pump Room to get a feeling for the ambience.

Understand
Cheltenham (pronounced Cheltnum) is now probably most famous for the Gold Cup horse race which takes place in mid-March every year. You'll need to book early to find a room, possibly as early as the previous year. Many people accept rooms anywhere within about a radius.

It's also famous for housing the top-secret Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) responsible for signals intelligence (SIGINT) for UKUSA by Britain's best computer scientists and mathematicians, in its doughnut-shaped building (designed that way for security reasons).
 * Visit Cheltenham website

By train

 * Golden Valley line: London Paddington → Reading → Didcot Parkway → Swindon → Kemble → Stroud → Stonehouse → Gloucester (reverses at Gloucester) → Cheltenham Spa.
 * Cross Country Route: Bristol Temple Meads → Bristol Parkway → Cheltenham Spa → Worcester Parkway → Birmingham New Street → Tamworth → Burton on Trent → Derby → Chesterfield → Sheffield → Wakefield Westgate → Leeds → York.

There's a regular bus service (D or E) to the town centre from Cheltenham Spa station:

Stagecoach (D or E): Hatherley → Warden Hill → Rail Station → Town Centre → Racecourse → Bishop's Cleeve → Woodmancote

There is an easy walk through Montpellier into the centre (15–20 minutes). An alternative off-road walking route is The Honeybourne Line but there have been muggings at night. It's too far to walk if mobility is an issue, so take a taxi.

By car
The M5 reaches Cheltenham from the north and south and the A40 from the East (from Oxford) is also a useful transport link. Parking is rarely a problem now in Cheltenham, but the one way systems can sometimes get a little confusing. With this in mind a good option would be to use the Park and Ride facility National Park and Ride Directory. If you're planning a day at the races, Cheltenham, has its own Racecourse Park and Ride facility.

Inside of Gloucestershire
There are buses from Cirencester, Stroud and other local villages to Cheltenham once an hour.

Several bus services go to Cheltenham from Gloucester. The most direct, comfortable and convenient of these is the 94 (Stagecoach Gold) bus, which as of March 2018 now operates 24 hours a day (except on Sundays).

Less frequent bus services go to and from Tewkesbury, such as the 41 and 42.

Outside of Gloucestershire
Many national long-distance buses stop at the (behind The Promenade) including the Stagecoach S2 bus service and the National Express bus.

The S2 bus travels from Oxford to Cheltenham several times a day. A single ticket from Cheltenham to Oxford is usually £8.00, but day-return tickets are also available:


 * S2 (Stagecoach) Oxford → Cassington (A40) → Witney → Curbridge → Burford → Northleach → Andoversford → Charlton Kings → Cheltenham

The National Express has connections to London Heathrow (and beyond). However it's not possible to buy a ticket at the station outside of office-hours, so buy online or by telephone.

By plane
Nearby Staverton hosts, which has regular flights to Jersey. There are also many private aircraft there, which can be chartered.

Birmingham Airport and Bristol Airport  are each only a couple of hours drive (north and south respectively) and offer a wide range of destinations inside and outside of Europe.

It can take several hours to drive to the London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick , Luton and Stansted ).

By car
Cheltenham is relatively easy to get around by car. Tourists should be aware of the one-way system when driving in the town centre, although there are plans to possibly alter this under the Cheltenham Transport Plan.

Most parking in the town is paid and is run by NCP or the town council.



By taxi
Taxis are fairly reliable. If you flag a taxi down or get one from the taxi rank you will be charged from the meter, whereas if you book with a taxi company you will be charged considerably less. Most locals use taxis at night as far as the surrounding villages as night-buses are few (apart from a regular link to Gloucester). At night, taxis wait along The Promenade (it can be very busy at pub-closing times). Uber "Local Cab" is available.

By bus
The main bus company is Stagecoach which operates a number of buses around the town, mainly on routes with letters rather than numbers.

The D bus goes from the station through the town centre to the racecourse and on to Bishop's Cleeve. A single from the town centre to the station costs £2.30, and a day ticket for all the Stagecoach services within Cheltenham (Dayrider) costs £4.00.

Do

 * Go to the races at
 * Go to the races at

Events
Cheltenham is known for its events. The Cheltenham Gold Cup and Cheltenham Literature Festival are internationally recognised and draw thousands of people each year.

Theatre
Cheltenham has several theatres which host a variety of productions.



Buy
Cheltenham is a popular shopping destination in the region. Both Promenade Street in the centre and Montpellier have many high-end shops; including the House of Fraser department store. The High Street and Lower High Street are where you find all the usual chain stores. There is also the Regent Arcade shopping centre.



Outside of the town centre itself consists several retail parks with free parking that should fulfil most of a shopper's needs.

If you are travelling into or out from Cheltenham on the A40, it's worth taking a look at the Dunkerton's cider shop near Charlton Kings. It is the latest business venture of Julian Dunkerton, founder of Superdry. If cider isn't your fancy, there is also the Battledown Brewery and Sibling Distillery nearby.
 * Cheltenham Farmers Market is held on The Promenade on the second and last Friday of the month.
 * Cheltenham Farmers Market is held on The Promenade on the second and last Friday of the month.

Drink


The only large nightclubs in town are V (formerly Moda) and Moomoo (formerly Blush), nothing unique but both enjoyable. Popular mainly with students.

Stay safe
Cheltenham is mostly a safe town. The so-called "bad areas" though are Hester's Way to the west of the town centre and Whaddon to the north-east, these areas have large amounts of social housing and are unlikely to be of interest to visitors.

Connect
As of May 2022, Cheltenham has 4G with EE and Vodafone, and 5G with O2 and Three.

Go next
Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby
 * Gloucester is about west.
 * Tewkesbury is about 9 miles north.
 * Cotswolds villages of Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh are about 10 miles east.
 * Cirencester, the 'capital of the Cotswolds' is a half hour drive to the south
 * Bristol is a longer day trip to the south.