'It's the place to be' Secret of enjoying Cheltenham? See it from Benidorm

Secret of enjoying Cheltenham? See it from Benidorm

- Ben Bloom

A bell rings for half past happy hour on the eve of Cheltenham festival in a city that has discarded time. Not entirely, of course. Conventional clocks are required to determine the midday cut-off between a cheap full English breakfast - available in sizes from large to extra, extra large - and an ever so slightly pricier one.

But the abundance of British tourists who seek escape from the mundanities of home in Benidorm are not beholden to the usual restrictions. The many dozen bars along the gaudy, neon strip of Calle Gerona are as boisterously full on a Monday lunchtime as in the early hours of a Friday morning, patrons habitually murdering Amy Winehouse songs from one dawn to the next at karaoke joints that proudly proclaim themselves open all day, every day.

A greying man, visibly worse for wear, is helped by a friend to navigate around a discarded mobility scooter. He succumbs a few steps on, crashing into a rubbish bin and sending his "Cheltenham 2025" cap to the floor.

Benidorm's British tourism boom - specifically to its New Town - dates back to the mass growth of high-rise buildings about half a century ago that gave the city its "New York of the Mediterranean" nickname. These days, close to a million Britons are estimated to visit annually, with four days in early March taking on ever greater importance. Barely a decade ago, Cheltenham festival week passed by largely unnoticed. Then a groundswell began; at first, imperceptibly, and in recent years with growing heft.

While Cheltenham's new chief executive, Guy Lavender, grapples with falling attendances - in the build-up to jump racing's showpiece event he confirmed "we are expecting fewer racegoers to be joining us in person this week" - those in charge of the multitude of Benidorm's bars, pubs and hotels revel in what is now for many the most lucrative date on the calendar.