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Day 1: Windsor Castle, The Long Walk and Deer Park
Windsor Castle
Windsor is located in Berkshire and is a very popular, busy tourist historic town that features lots of lovely shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. We visited Windsor Castle over a Bank Holiday weekend in summer, so it was very busy. However, we purchased our castle tickets online, which meant we got to join a far shorter queue to get in. After heading through security, we collected our audio guides, which were included in the entrance fee, and headed on to explore the grounds.
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and is open to visitors all year round. But check the website prior to visiting, as sometimes the state rooms are closed for official state events. The castle was originally founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century and has since been home to 39 monarchs. Nowadays, the Queen spends most of her private weekends here.
We first visited Queen Mary’s amazing dolls’ house, which was created for her in the early 1920’s by the leading architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens. I’m not usually that ‘in’ to dolls houses, but this one is so detailed, that you really can’t help but admire it and be amazed by the detail. The house is furnished and decorated in such detail that it even included upholstered furniture like innerspring mattresses, food, ceramics, silverware, and even a stocked wine cellar and model cars parked out front.
After the dolls’ house exhibit, we moved onto the china museum. The room was filled with glass display cabinets showcasing the extensive china collections amassed by the royal families over the generations, either given as gifts or specially commissioned.
We then moved onto the richly adorned State Apartments which exhibit the Royal art collection which features some very famous artists including Rubens and Van Dyck. This series of rooms form the centrepiece of the castle. The rooms are immaculate, and it’s hard to believe that they were severely damaged by a fire in 1992, which I vividly remember watching on the news as a child in New Zealand. Since then, the rooms have been fully restored to their original 19th century appearance.
The semi-state rooms were private apartments created for George IV. These rooms are open from autumn until spring each year. They too were severely damaged by the 1992 fire but have since been restored. The Crimson Drawing Room was particularly magnificent, as was the Grand Reception Room with its huge, sparkly, chandeliers.
It took us some time to get through the rooms, but not because they were overly crowded (as they are careful to only let a set number of people in at once, hence the long lines), but because there is so much to take in. The rooms are decorated in such detail, and there were lots of interesting objects on display too.
After exploring the rooms of the castle, we headed over to St George’s chapel. This chapel is famous for hosting many famous royal weddings and christenings including the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as well as Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.
In the church there was a sad story about Queen Victoria. I’ve really enjoyed watching the TV show Victoria as well as the movie The Young Victoria where I have come to learn a lot about her life. Her beloved husband Albert died from typhus early in life, which left her devastated and she remained in mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. She even The story tells of her sadness whilst watching her children marry in the chapel without her beloved husband by her side.
The Long Walk and Deer Park
After resting our feet, we headed off to tackle The Long Walk. The public stretch of The Long Walk runs in a straight line from Cambridge Gates at Windsor Castle all the way to The Copper Horse statue and is 2.65 miles (4.26 km) long. The path is flat, paved, and beautifully grass and tree lined. It was a very hot afternoon, so we took several breaks lying on the lovely cool grass under the trees. Unfortunately, the walk is directly under an extremely busy flight path which has a constant stream of planes flying over it (literally, a plane every 45 seconds) which somewhat ruins the peaceful ambience.
Once we got finally got to the Copper Horse statue up on the hill, we sat down to enjoy the wonderful views over the park. The Windsor Estate extends to 15,800 acres, and the Windsor Great Park takes up 4500 acres of this area. From our viewpoint, we could see the deer roam the grounds, people horse riding and great views of the castle and township of Windsor.
Practical Tips for Visiting Windsor Castle, The Long Walk and Deer Park
- How to get to Windsor Castle from London by public transport: As we live in the UK, we drove to Windsor. But most tourists typically travel from London by train as it only takes about an hour. Trains to Windsor leave from both Paddington and Waterloo Station and arrive at Windsor and Eton Riverside station which is only a short walk from the castle. The tickets are a flat rate and not limited, so just buy your tickets when you get to the train station. To save money, I recommend purchasing a return ticket, and travelling off-peak. Peak fares apply Monday to Friday (not on public holidays) between 06:30 and 09:30, and between 16:00 and 19:00.
- Tours: You can take a day tour to Windsor Castle from London, There are also a range of day tours available that include Windsor and other sites such as Stonehenge, Oxford or Bath.
- Car parking in Windsor: There is limited parking in Windsor. We were very lucky to get one of the very few free all-day parking spots (we were so disbelieving, we even had to check with a passing traffic warden that we weren’t imagining it who seemed equally surprised that we had happened to nab one of these parks). If you are arriving by car, it’s worth arriving early. There are paid parking spots that you can use, but they can fill up quickly. There are also nearby park and ride options. See the Windsor Council website for more details.
- How long should I visit for? Exploring just the castle takes about 3hrs, depending on how busy it is (it’s busy most of the time due to a constant influx of tourists year round) and how long you have to line up to get into the castle. The castle is as its busiest in the morning because that’s when most of the tours start their day, so it’s recommended to visit after midday. If you want to include a stroll around Windsor town and the Long Walk in your day, then you can easily spend an entire day here which is what we did. I thoroughly recommend spending your day here if you can fit it into your schedule.
- Tickets: Buy your ticket online before arriving. There is a special, shorter line for those with online tickets.
- Photography: You can take photos outside, but you can’t take any inside any of the rooms or buildings, so that’s why all my photos are only of the outside areas.
- Toilets: Toilets are available at the castle, but I never saw any in the park.
- The Long Walk: Make sure you take plenty of water with you, because there is nowhere to buy a drink along the way and on a hot day, you’ll need lots of water to stay hydrated.
Accommodation Options in Windsor
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Day 2: Virginia Water
The following day we spent the morning enjoying Virginia Water which is part of the Windsor Great Park. Originally created as a Royal pleasure ground, this beautiful park features a magnificent lake, woodland, gardens, waterfalls and even Roman ruins!
This park is huge and very popular with families, cyclists, runners and walkers. There is a circuit around the lake that is 4.5 miles (7.2 km). About half is paved and the other half is a gravel/dirt path which provides easy walking conditions even with a pram or pushchair. However, this path does get very extremely busy, so we ended up meandering off the path to explore the quieter areas of the park.
First off, we visited the 100ft Totem Pole which was gifted to the Queen in 1958 by the British Columbian government. It was carved by Chief Mungo Martin of the Kwakiutl Indians, a tribe located on Vancouver Island. We then continued to wander through the Valley Gardens and were lucky enough to find a beautiful heather garden in full bloom.
We continued along and re-joined the main path around the water’s edge until we got to the Leptis Magna ruins. These ruins arrived at Windsor Great Park in 1818 all the way from the Roman city of Leptis Magna in the Libyan desert. They were brought to Windsor to create a folly which was built to look like a genuine Roman relic. Apparently, this was a popular thing to do at the time. It was a bit strange to see actual Roman ruins in the middle of the park, but this was a highlight for me.
We were getting quite tired by now as it was another lovely sunny, hot day. But we had one more highlight to see before our walk was over, and that was the rushing waters of the Cascade waterfall. It was created in the 1750’s but destroyed in 1768 when the causeway collapsed. However, it was rebuilt in the 1780’s and is a popular spot to take a photo and a lovely way to end the walk around the lake.
Practical Tips for Visiting Virginia Waters
- Parking: There are several car parks dotted around the park, but we ended up parking in the main car park by the visitor’s centre. Fees do apply. This car park can become extremely busy, particularly during summer, so try and arrive early.
- Toilets: There are toilets at the visitor centre as well as by the Valley Gardens carpark.
- Food and drink: There is a café at the visitors centre selling basic, reasonably priced food. There were also food and drink vans in the busy parts of the park.
Other Sights and Activities Around Windsor
Windsor is a lovely area and there is much to see and do if you have the time
The Savill Garden: Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to visit the Savill Garden, which is also located inside Windsor Great Park. It is open daily between 10am-6pm (Mar-Oct) and 10am-4.30pm (Nov – Feb). Entry fee applies.
Legoland: Legoland Windsor Resort is nearby. There is even a shuttle service between Windsor train stations/Windsor Castle to Legoland, so you if you have the energy, you can visit both in one day. The shuttle is run by a private transport company, so fees apply.
We are National Trust members, so during our visit to the Berkshire and Buckinghamshire area we took the time to visit a couple of properties that I thoroughly recommend.
Cliveden Gardens (Cliveden Road, Taplow, Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, SL1 8NS): If you enjoy stunning gardens, woodlands, and riverside walking, then you are going to love Cliveden as much as I did. The house is now a luxury hotel, but they do offer guided tours at limited days and times. However, you do get full access to explore the grounds. The formal gardens feature the Long Garden which is filled with a quirky collection of topiary and sculptures; rose garden; a very grand Fountain of Love; maze; water garden; and a six acre Parterre comprising of 16 triangular beds with box hedging, manicured yew topiary, and a sweeping semi-circle bed. We also enjoyed a peaceful walk in the woodland along the River Thames which provided lovely views of the countryside. There’s a nice café there too.
Hughenden (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4LA): This lovely property has a wonderful Victorian manor to explore as well as an interesting exhibit about its secret Second World War history. I really enjoyed the woodland and countryside walk.
Practical Tips for Visiting Windsor
- Language: English
- Currency: British pound
- Tipping: Not required, but people usually round up.
- Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets take a three pronged plug only used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in the United Kingdom as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
- Driving: In the UK they drive on the left hand side of the road with speed signs in miles per hour (mph).
- Navigating: We used Google’s free Offline Maps. Google Offline Maps allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Make sure you download a map to use when you find yourself without internet.
- Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a
portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices. - If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a Windsor map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!
- Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a
Other English Royal Residences to Visit
If you enjoyed this post on visiting the royal residence of Osbourne house, then check out my other posts:
- Guide to visiting Sandringham Estate – Where the Royals Spend Their Christmas
- Guide to visiting Osbourne House – the holiday home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
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