Hexham Racecourse: a Northumberland jumps track that is firmly on the up

High on Yarridge Heights above Hexham, some 800 feet above sea level, sits one of the most scenic racecourses in Britain. Hexham Racecourse is a National Hunt track set in a natural amphitheatre, and its recent run of good news has given Northumberland racegoers plenty to cheer.

Racing in Hexham has deep roots. Meetings were held on Tyne Green as far back as the 18th century before moving up to Yarridge, but by 1880 the course had closed. It was Charles Henderson who revived it in 1890, investing his own money in permanent weighing and changing rooms and a fenced paddock. His family's blue and yellow racing colours are still used by the course today, and the copper beech hedges planted in 1907 still form the wings of the steeplechase fences.

The course marked its 135th anniversary in 2025, and it proved a memorable year. A new stand named after Queen Camilla was opened by its namesake, who said: "It really is the most beautiful racecourse." That autumn Hexham featured on ITV4, its first terrestrial television appearance since the current owners, Hexham and Northern Marts, took over in 2016.

The crowds have followed. Racecourse manager Robert Whitelock told the Racing Post: "We haven't lost any races and crowds have been very good, we're running at about four per cent up." The course was also shortlisted for a readers' prize at the Racecourse Association Showcase Awards.

The track itself is a real test. It is left-handed, about a mile and a half round, with a notably steep climb from the end of the back straight to the finish that can catch out horses that seem to be travelling well. Champion jockey Brian Hughes, who has ridden well over a hundred winners there, summed it up: "It's unique and horses either act round there or they don't." Famous names such as One Man and Red Marauder made their hurdling debuts at Hexham.

Its biggest day is the Heart of All England Cup, first run in 1907 and the county's most significant point-to-point championship. Because of the exposed location, there is no racing in January or February, with fixtures running from spring into early summer and again from October to December.

With the autumn season under way, fixture dates and tickets are on the Hexham Racecourse website.