PROMOTION

With its abundance of outdoor spaces across 15 UK-wide locations, The Jockey Club Venues is host to an astonishing array of events throughout the year. From team building and training days to fireworks, festivals, and charity sports activities, The Jockey Club Venues can host several thousand people at a time. Tash Stone, National Business Development Manager, explores the incredible benefits of hosting events in the great outdoors.

Nature’s tonic

Access to nature has been shown to have far-reaching physical and mental health benefits, and because of this, venues with outdoor space have become increasingly sought after. Spending time in nature, even if it’s a simple lunchtime walk, has a remarkable way of lifting our spirits.

The mental health benefits of green, natural spaces have been well-studied in recent years. These include lowered feelings of stress and anxiety, improved mood, reduced depression, and enhanced concentration. And the advantages don’t stop there. Spending time in the great outdoors can deliver specific physical benefits too, such as encouraging increased physical activity (because green spaces typically provide opportunities for exercise, even if it is a simple walking meeting); reduced risk of chronic diseases such as asthma; and improved sleep, as natural light and fresh air can help regulate the sleep-wake cycle and improve sleep quality.

Rare nature

As countries become increasingly urbanised however, the world’s population is spending less time exposed to natural environments. It has been reported that 55% of the world’s population live in urban areas and this is expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050 (United Nations, 2018). It’s no wonder that natural, green spaces, when we do find them, are so highly prized.

It has also been found that positive experiences in nature can lead to increased environmental responsibility, particularly among the younger generations. Such experiences not only benefit personal wellbeing but also cultivate a sense of environmental stewardship, encouraging actions that support the health of our planet.

Green boost

Despite the rise of urban living, our deep-rooted connection to nature remains undeniable. In fact, studies have shown that simply looking at the colour green – whether trees, grass, or even pictures – can produce a calming effect, helping to reduce mental fatigue and restore attention.

And for events such as conferences and corporate ideation sessions, green has even been shown to enhance focus and creativity, as the reduced mental tension leads to broader attention spans, supporting divergent thinking – a key aspect of creativity.

Not only this, but green occupies a unique space: it’s calming and subtly energising. This helps maintain alertness without overstimulation, which is ideal for tasks requiring sustained concentration, and may explain why natural, outdoor setting are ideal for maintaining energy and focus over long, multifaceted events. Whether it’s a day-long music festival or a cultural celebration with multiple stages and performances, green settings can help prevent cognitive fatigue without overloading the senses.

Space to breathe

At The Jockey Club Venues, our outdoor spaces perfectly complement our indoor spaces, which routinely host events such as conferences, exhibitions, and gala dinners. Outdoor space provides the flexibility for events to spread out and breathe, opening up opportunities for additional elements to enrich the event experience, as well as providing networking spaces and essential breakout and quiet zones.

In fact, outdoor space is particularly suited to breakout and quiet zones. Because green is in the middle of the visible light spectrum it requires minimal eye adjustment which makes it restful for the eyes. This may help reduce eye strain from screen use when incorporated as a background colour or through ‘green breaks’.

The sky’s the limit

Outdoor spaces like ours provide an enormous blank canvas for your events. With over 3,500 acres of outdoor space in total across our UK-wide venues, it really does mean that the only limit is your imagination. Outdoor spaces can offer the versatility and scale needed for creative staging, immersive setups, and unique audience experiences that indoor venues can’t always provide.

Whether you’re organising a music festival or a corporate away-day, incorporating the great outdoors into your event planning could have far-reaching benefits for your attendees, boosting physical and mental wellbeing, enhancing creativity, and promoting relaxation.

Spotlighted venues:

 Cheltenham

Featuring 360 acres of green and accessible space with the glorious backdrop of the Cotswold Hills, Cheltenham plays host to music festivals, filming, fun runs, team building, outdoor cinemas and driving experiences amongst others. The site is largely weather-proof thanks to expanses of hard standing for production and equipment storage, with parking for 4,000 cars and an experienced team fully used to outdoor green field sites to assist you.

Within the racecourse buildings themselves are outdoor bar spaces, perfect for BBQs and drinks receptions overlooking the Parade Ring.

Sandown Park

Whether it’s fairgrounds, fireworks, or festivals, Sandown Park is well equipped for all types of outdoor events. Ideally located in Esher, Surrey, Sandown Park has magnificently maintained grounds and beautiful scenic views of Surrey and the Capital. It is easily accessible by road, rail and public transport, with ample car parking facilities and there’s even onsite accommodation.

Epsom Downs

With 360 acres of outdoor space, Epsom Downs offers a fantastic location for your next alfresco event. Whether for team building, location filming or a celebration, Epsom Downs offers modern conference and banqueting facilities with flexible meeting rooms, elegant dining spaces, natural daylight and impressive architecture. In addition, Epsom Downs’ award-winning catering team can prepare a variety of tasty meals, from BBQs to picnics, the perfect  accompaniment to any outdoor event.

Haydock Park

Haydock Park Racecourse is set in 127 acres of scenic parkland. There are 1,000 square metres of indoor ground floor exhibition space and 13 acres of hard-standing ground for major outdoor events. Haydock Park Racecourse is flexible for large or small scale exhibitions and trade shows and ideal for product launches with its outdoor lush, green parkland or indoors large, flexible space.

For more information, please see: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/venues/what-we-do/outdoor-events