The Final Fence Restaurant

Cleeve Hill did what no grandstand ever could; nature built the finest viewing gallery in jump racing.

The National Hunt Chase, which had been a peripatetic affair moving between various courses, settled at Cheltenham in 1904 after the racecourse was purchased and redeveloped in 1898. By the early 1900s, the annual March meeting was becoming established as the premier fixture in the jumping calendar. The course's natural amphitheatre, with Cleeve Hill as a backdrop, gave spectators views that no grandstand could replicate.

Every Gold Cup since 1924 has been settled in the same stretch of turf between the final fence and the winning post.

Red Splash won the inaugural Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1924, a race that would grow to become the most prestigious steeplechase in the sport. Initially run over two miles, the race was extended to its current distance of three miles and two furlongs in 1926. The Gold Cup gave the Festival its centrepiece and, crucially, gave the final fence its significance. Every Gold Cup since has been decided in the stretch between that last obstacle and the winning post.

Two crown jewels by 1927; chasers and hurdlers each had their champion, and Cheltenham had its identity.

The Champion Hurdle was first run in 1927, adding a second championship race to the Festival programme. With the Gold Cup for chasers and the Champion Hurdle for hurdlers, Cheltenham now had two races that could claim to crown the best in their respective disciplines. The Festival's structure was taking shape, and with it, the demand for proper hospitality facilities to match the occasion.

Arkle did not merely win three Gold Cups; he turned a racecourse obstacle into a national obsession.

Arkle won the first of three consecutive Gold Cups in 1964, and in doing so changed the public perception of Cheltenham entirely. He was not just a racehorse; he was a phenomenon. Crowds swelled, television coverage expanded, and the Festival became a national occasion rather than a niche sporting fixture. Arkle's dominance, clearing the final fence with contemptuous ease, turned that obstacle into one of the most watched spots in British sport.

A fourth day meant a fourth reason to invest; the dining had to earn its place alongside the racing.

In 2005, the Cheltenham Festival expanded from three days to four, with the addition of a new day built around the Ryanair Chase. The expansion brought more races, more spectators, and a significant investment in hospitality infrastructure. The Jockey Club, which owns Cheltenham, recognised that the Festival's growth demanded dining and entertainment facilities that matched the quality of the racing. Premium restaurants with views of the course became central to the experience.

Fine dining with a front-row seat at the fence that decides races; proximity and polish, perfectly combined.

The Final Fence Restaurant emerged as one of Cheltenham's most sought-after hospitality venues, offering guests a unique vantage point directly overlooking the last fence on the steeplechase course. The concept was simple but brilliant: fine dining with a view of the most dramatic moment in jump racing. Guests watch horses clear (or fail to clear) the obstacle that so often decides the outcome, all from the comfort of a properly laid table. It combined the visceral thrill of proximity with the polish of a top-tier restaurant.

Quarter of a million spectators watched the last Festival before the world stopped.

The 2020 Cheltenham Festival took place from 10 to 13 March, just days before the UK entered its first COVID-19 lockdown. Over 250,000 spectators attended across the four days. The 2021 Festival proceeded behind closed doors, a surreal spectacle of empty grandstands and silent finishes. The return of full crowds in 2022 was greeted with palpable relief, and hospitality venues like The Final Fence saw record demand from guests who had spent two years missing the experience.