The National Stud opened its gates to the public for the first time in the mid 1970’s, offering the unique opportunity to see behind the scenes of a working Thoroughbred stud farm. To this day The National Stud remains the only working stud farm in the UK allowing individuals, small groups and large parties the chance to see behind the scenes of the industry.
Tours last approximately 90minutes and are taken by coach and on foot. Your experience begins when the coach departs from the newly furbished Wavertree’s Coffee Shop.
During the tour you can visit the Foaling Unit and nursery paddocks where in the early spring, you may see a newborn foal; the superb Stallion Unit, with an opportunity to view the stallions in residence as well as visiting various paddocks where you can watch the mares and foals grazing and enjoying the sunshine.
Visitors also have the opportunity to visit the 2004 Grand National winner Amberleigh House in his paddock and maybe even feed him a Polo! Amberleigh House is available most days unless he is attending a parade such as the Parade of Champions at Aintree at the Grand National Meeting.
The National Stud is a working stud farm all year round therefore there is plenty of opportunity to re-visit the stud all year round to experience different parts of the breeding year. The tours focus on introducing visitors to the history and purpose of the National Stud as a commercial Thoroughbred breeding operation.
The physical content of the tours varies throughout the year depending on the season and the activities happening on the stud when you visit. What you are likely to see depending on the time of year is shown below.
| January - June |
Mares, foals, stallions |
| June - September |
Some mares, weaned foals, some yearlings/ horses out of training |
| October - December |
Foals preparing for the sales, some permanent boarding mares |
Make your visit to The National Stud more memorable by visiting the Wavertree’s Coffee shop where you can meet friends, have lunch or enjoy a glass of wine on the terrace in the sunshine. Alongside the coffee shop there are numerous picnic tables visitors can also make use of in the sunshine. Situated within the coffee shop is the National Stud Gift shop where numerous gifts can be purchased including postcards, magnets and various pictures and prints.
Our on site artist Chris Winch works from the Weatherbys Pavilion which is adjacent to the Coffee Shop. Take a visit to his studio where you will find an abundance of beautiful paintings for sale and often when the sun is shining you can watch him work outside.
There is plenty of free parking for cars and coaches, and we have full disabled access and facilities on the tours and in Wavertree Coffee Shop.
Book today – it’s a great visit for all the family!
NB:
- Stallions are usually out in their paddocks but are busy during the season so they may not all be available to see, depending on their work loads.
- The Stallions are not turned out during bad weather or during the December sales.
- For health and safety reasons, it is not always possible to see inside the covering shed although every effort is made to make sure visitors see as much as possible.
- Foals are very susceptible to cold and wet weather – in such weather young foals will not be turned out in the paddocks. It may not always be possible to visit the Foaling Unit if there are any foals that need quiet and recuperation.