Only at Cheltenham can you feel a unique blend of royalty, sports fan and James Bond – as I explored the horseracing festival that oozes opulence and high-rollers and a stone’s throw from GCHQ. They say horseracing is the Sport of Kings, with Cheltenham’s Style Wednesday boasting Queen Camilla, Princess Eugenie and Princess Anne’s daughter Zara, you can see why.

And with its spas, Aston Martin showroom, Boodles jewellery store and English sparkling wine-maker Nyetimber’s beautifully reimagined 1968 Routemaster Bus, you can see Cheltenham’s a class apart. First visit had to be Aston Martin, who have been chauffeuring VIPs from the Gloucestershire racecourse’s helipad – as you do – throughout the four days of the jump racing meeting.

But they also have a showroom at the track’s premium spot for elite brands to show off their wares, spa and massage suites and top-class entertainment – The Orchard.

If it’s good enough for 007, it will certainly do for me – and I was not disappointed by the fleet of engine-fuelled, roaring leather-clad luxury.

I zeroed in on the new £180,000 open-top Vantage Roadster, in satin iridescent sapphire, with its gleaning dash and all-too comfy seat.

Slightly tipsy racegoers thrilled by a win who popped in for a peak would never mistake me for a millionaire looking for another sports car to fill his Cheshire mansion’s driveway, but one can but dream.

Mustering my small reserves of cool I slid out, with a sigh, and sidled over to the adjacent malachite green £200,000-ish Aston Martin SUV DBX707.

Apparently it goes from 0-60mph in three seconds – all I know it is goes damn well with me.

I took a glance at the silver flagship Vanquish with its V12 engine and £300,000 price tag, but my eyes kept drifting back to that sapphire-blue Vantage.

One smartly-dressed member of staff explained: “The Vantage is an entry level Aston Martin.” Typical that one was my favourite.

Over the way is Boodles, who since 1798, have represented the epitome of fine British jewellery and are still a privately-owned family business.

The store was packed with racegoers trying on or staring at the fantastic designs – many oblivious to the screaming race commentary blaring out speakers around the track.

Boodles stands for the very best in creative design; the highest quality diamonds and gemstones; and the fusion of traditional craft skills with innovation – of course it had to be here at Cheltenham.

Also proudly displayed at The Orchard is the Brooklands Watch Company’s Golden Miller limited-edition racing chronograph, celebrating the record achievements of the famous thoroughbred racehorse – who won five consecutive Gold Cups here from 1932 to 1936.

The firm is a British luxury watch brand founded by amateur racing driver and aviator Simon Jeffs in 2022. The company’s name comes from the Brooklands racetrack in Surrey, England – this had to be at Cheltenham!

Owners of the 100 Swiss-made Golden Miller watches – as well as being down £6,800 – do carry racing history on their wrist; its buckle is made from aluminium alloy from an original horseshoe worn by the champion steeplechaser.

The caseback displays lucky seven blue and yellow sapphires – the racing colours of Golden Miller’s singular owner Dorothy Paget. It’s on sale exclusively from brooklandswatches.com.

Inside the Shopping Village, top quality outdoor brands sell their jackets, hats, umbrellas and warm racecourse clothing – leather and wool are common themes.

But I was drawn to a real character in charming Marc Stevenson, of hand-made rocking horse-to-the-Royalty makers Stevenson Brothers, of Bethersden, Kent.

Proving you’re never too old to rock, 68 year-old debonair Marc and his twin Tony set up their thriving business in 1982 and specialise in making replicas of owners horses – including six for Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

They even presented King Charles III with one in 2023 in honour of his coronation, with their price tags ranging from £1,500 to £10,000 – their zebra patterned horses are among their most popular.

Marc told me: “Our goal was to reintroduce rocking horse making, our uncle taught us, it was sort of dying out, and to be the best rocking horse makers in the world.

“We’re showing our miniature at £1,500, the dapple grey at just over £4,500 and five and a bit thousand for the zebra. The Platinum Jubilee horse up there is over £10,000.

“But you’ve got to think of it, this is an heirloom that’s going to last hundreds of years. And will be passed down. Passed down through the generations.

“People often ask us to replicate their own horse. So I’ll have some of the tail hair and a shoe. And we replicate it as much as we can.

“Cheltenham is the only race meeting we come to. Otherwise we’re at Badminton and Burleigh horse trials. Frankie Dettori had one of our zebras.”

I had to ask: “Why the zebra?”

Marc explained: “I grew up in Kenya in the 50s and 60s and wanted to do something African to remind us. And is that is very popular. We’re the only rocking horse zebra manufacturer.

“It takes three months to make one of these and they are incredibly strong. We can put adults on these.”

Describing King Charles coronation horse Marc added: “I’m very fortunate and honoured to have made Her Majesty’s six horses over the 22 years since her golden jubilee.

“Once she passed away, bless her soul, I wrote to His Majesty to say we’d like to make a coronation horse. And he came back saying, perfect, let’s have ‘George’ – so we made him George the rocking horse. It was an honour.”

After rocking out I needed some refreshment and made my way over to Nyetimber’s trendy reconditioned Routemaster to check out their range of sparkling wines on the top deck – the perfect view of the splendour of this top-notch track.

Carey Weeks, Director of Partnerships at the Jockey Club, said: “It is brilliant to have such iconic brands being associated with the Cheltenham Festival.

“The Orchard has blossomed in recent years and is now a truly popular destination on the racecourse with over 10 brands activating to enhance the customer experience.

“From Boodles and Nyetimber who have been a part of The Orchard since we launched in 2019 to more recently Aston Martin and the Debenhams Day Spa making its debut in 2025 offering racegoers the chance to freshen up their hair and make-up while on site.”