Royal Ascot

: The Grand Account :

Ascot is a racecourse, but it is more truly a ceremony. Founded by Queen Anne in 1711, when she judged the heath ideal for horses 'to gallop at full stretch', it has anchored the calendar of English society ever since. Royal Ascot each June remains the only race meeting opened daily by a royal procession of carriages: morning dress, the Royal Enclosure, traditions held lightly but never dropped. Beyond the great week, the course settles into a quieter elegance of summer evenings and autumn fixtures. The elite come because Ascot asks something of its guests, and rewards them with a day that belongs to another century.

From central London the route runs west on the M4 to Junction 6, then south on the A332 through Windsor Great Park: the most beautiful approach to any racecourse in England, just over an hour when timed well. For Royal Ascot we recommend the Rolls-Royce Phantom; for quieter fixtures, the Range Rover LWB carries hats, hampers and morning dress with ease. Your chauffeur will have studied the day's traffic orders, holds your badges ready, and sets you down at the correct entrance for your enclosure. While you race, the car waits in its appointed place; when you are ready, it appears.

Begin with breakfast at Coworth Park, the Dorchester Collection's country house ten minutes from the course, its polo lawns already being mown. Arrive at the racecourse by half past twelve; the Royal Procession enters the straight at two o'clock precisely, and one should be settled with a glass of something cold before then. Between races there is afternoon tea, and singing around the bandstand as the light softens. Dinner afterwards is at Woven by Adam Smith, Coworth Park's celebrated dining room. Come for the June meeting to watch England perform itself; come in September if you prefer the racing pure. Either way, leave unhurried.