The Grand National 2027. Three days at Aintree, and one road out.
Aintree is a suburban racecourse on a suburban road, and for three days in April it takes the traffic of a small city. The racing is simple. The hour after the last race is not.
The festival
Aintree 2027 at a glance
- DatesThursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027Opening Day on the Thursday, Ladies Day on the Friday, Grand National Day on the Saturday.
- WhereAintree Racecourse, north LiverpoolOn the A59, about six miles from the city centre and roughly a mile from the M57 and M58.
- ParkingBooked in advance onlyThe racecourse car parks open from 6am and are sold in advance. Nothing is sold at the gate.
- Nearest airfieldsLiverpool John Lennon and ManchesterLiverpool is the closest by a distance. Manchester is the wider choice of aircraft and handling.
Dates, day names and parking arrangements as published by Aintree Racecourse and The Jockey Club. We review this page every year.
Getting there
The A59 does all the work
Aintree has no motorway of its own. Everything arrives along the A59 and the ordinary residential roads that feed it, which is fine at ten in the morning and difficult at half past four in the afternoon when the whole enclosure leaves at once. Merseyrail runs a dense service into Aintree station through the festival, which is why so many locals take the train and why the roads immediately around the course are given over to buses, pedestrians and stewarding for long stretches of the afternoon.
Aintree is a little under forty miles from our Manchester base, so on these three days the car at the racecourse and the chauffeur driving it are ours, not a supplier's. That matters most at the end of the day, when the difference between a good evening and a bad one is whether somebody already knows exactly where you are standing.
Journey times
To Aintree on festival days
| From | Normal day | Grand National Day |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool city centre | 20 to 30 minutes | Allow 45 to 75 minutes |
| Liverpool John Lennon Airport | 25 to 35 minutes | Allow 45 to 80 minutes |
| Manchester Airport | 50 to 70 minutes | Allow 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 |
| Manchester city centre | 50 to 70 minutes | Allow 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 |
| Alderley Edge and the Cheshire villages | 55 to 75 minutes | Allow 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 50 |
| Central London by road | 3 hours 45 to 4 hours 30 | Best done the day before |
Planning guidance, not promises. We set the departure time against the day's conditions and the enclosure you are in.
What clients usually book
One car for the day, and a plan for the exit
- An S-Class or V-Class held for the whole day from your door until you are home, rather than two separate transfers
- Several cars moving together for a hospitality party, with one point of contact for all of them
- Collection from Liverpool John Lennon or Manchester for guests flying in on the morning
- A meeting point agreed as a physical landmark away from the main exit, so nobody stands in the crush
- A late departure on purpose, with dinner in Liverpool or Cheshire while the roads clear
- Hat boxes and heels: a V-Class is the sensible choice for four people dressed for Ladies Day
Drop off and pick up
Where the car actually waits
The racecourse car parks are booked in advance and are not sold on the day, so the first question we ask is which pass you hold and which entrance your badge uses. If you have a car park pass, your chauffeur parks and waits there. If you do not, we drop you as close to your entrance as the stewarding allows on the day and then stage the car somewhere sensible a short distance away, ready to move when you call.
We always agree the pick up point before you go in, in daylight, as a place you can describe to somebody else in your party. A gate number is not enough when several thousand people are using the same gate. Your chauffeur will be there before you are, and will stay as long as you want to stay.
Book early
Saturday goes first
The Grand National is one of the busiest days of the year in the north west, and Saturday cars are spoken for well before the Thursday ones are. Tell us your days as soon as you have your badges, and tell us if you need more than one car.
Around the festival
Related pages
Arriving
In the north west
The racing season
Request a quote
Tell us which days
Which days you are going, how many of you, where you are starting from and whether you hold a car park pass. We come back with a clear price for the day. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Aintree travel
Can the car wait all day?
Yes, and that is how most clients book it. The same chauffeur takes you in the morning, waits through the racing and is ready whenever you decide to leave.
We do not have a car park pass. Is that a problem?
No. We drop you as close to your entrance as the stewarding allows, stage the car nearby and bring it back to an agreed point when you call. Tell us at the quote stage so we plan it properly.
Are these your own cars?
Yes. Aintree is inside our Manchester operating area, so the cars and the chauffeurs are ours.
Can we fly in for the day?
Liverpool John Lennon is the closest field and is around half an hour from the course on a normal day. Manchester gives a wider choice of aircraft and handling. We will arrange the flight and have the car on the ramp side of the terminal where the handling agent permits.
Can you take a group of us?
Yes. Several cars setting off together, arriving together and going home together is a common booking for hospitality parties, and there is one person at Odyssey looking after all of them.
Are you an official partner of the Grand National?
No. We are an independent chauffeur company providing transport to and from the racecourse.
