Racing history everywhere you look and a giant Tesco for John Gosden to get his beer - but really Newmarket is all about the Heath

At the heart of the dusty car park that borders Warren Hill, the Phil's Snacks van is doing a healthy trade. It's only been here since March – owner Phil Griggs having relocated from a layby on the A11 – so King Charles II never had the chance to enjoy one of Phil's tasty egg and bacon rolls as he surveyed the scene in the mid-17th century, but at least the steady stream of work-riders shouting out orders as they pass is evidence that racing in Newmarket is still a busy and hungry enterprise.

"Peter Chapple-Hyam is my best customer – nine bacon rolls on a Saturday morning," says the man in the van, slapping another couple of rashers on the grill as the clock edges towards 8am, "but I'll get trainers come up and ask for 25 to pick up in time for breakfast."

Phil aside, this is a scene that has played out since the nascent interest of James I and Charles I was consolidated in earnest by the Merry Monarch himself, once Oliver Cromwell and his pesky Roundheads had been sent packing.