If you stay for a second day then explore some of the countryside surrounding Windsor. There are plenty of possible walks but try this 15km loop combines both pretty villages and parkland. Start in Home Park which runs alongside the Thames and is part of the Crown Estate. The park is Windsor’s main sports field but it’s also home to the annual Royal Horse Show. Walk around the perimeter of the park to enter Datchet. In Tudor and Stuart times this village was home to royal courtiers and rich London merchants. Then follow the Thames to the south, crossing it at Southlea Road. Now continue into Old Windsor, the oldest Saxon Town in Berkshire and the seat of Edward the Confessor. Walk through the town and follow the road to Bishop’s Gate Road, which leads to the Bishop’s Gate entrance to Old Windsor Wood. Head west to the Copper Horse, a statue of George III on horseback, commissioned by his son George IV. The statue marks the southern end of the Long Walk. Now stroll down this 4. 26km avenue to the George IV entrance of Windsor Castle, may be passing herds of deer en route. Finish by resting your feet at the Two Brewers a cosy 17th-century pub just by the castle gates. If you want to venture further afield in the evening for a meal then try the splendid, occasionally notorious Cliveden which is a short journey from Windsor. The grounds are now owned by the National Trust but the mansion itself is now an upmarket hotel and restaurant.
If you want to use spend a third day using Windsor as your base then it is well placed for exploring some of England’s most interesting cities. London is only 30 minutes away by train and Oxford just under an hour. However, there’s still plenty more countryside and important British history to be discovered nearby. You can see where King John sealed the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in English history. Just head to the rolling hills and meadows of nearby Runnymede. A Magna Carta Memorial stands at the foot of Cooper’s Hill. Other monuments also dot the area, such as the Kennedy and Air Forces Memorials. A stone’s throw across the river sits the 2, 000-year-old Ankerwycke yew tree and the ruins of a 12th-century Benedictine Priory. Why not take a gentle River Thames trip, there are a number of operators who offer a variety of cruises, including a 40-minute Windsor round-trip and a four hour one-way sail from Runnymede to Hampton Court. If you’d rather stay on dry land, and like walking, then take advantage of part of the 294km Thames Path. It runs through Windsor and you could walk from Windsor to Maidenhead, which is only 13km, then catch the train back.
Windsor is so much more than just the castle and this set of articles has only just scratched the surface with what is on offer in the area.
If you want to use spend a third day using Windsor as your base then it is well placed for exploring some of England’s most interesting cities. London is only 30 minutes away by train and Oxford just under an hour. However, there’s still plenty more countryside and important British history to be discovered nearby. You can see where King John sealed the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in English history. Just head to the rolling hills and meadows of nearby Runnymede. A Magna Carta Memorial stands at the foot of Cooper’s Hill. Other monuments also dot the area, such as the Kennedy and Air Forces Memorials. A stone’s throw across the river sits the 2, 000-year-old Ankerwycke yew tree and the ruins of a 12th-century Benedictine Priory. Why not take a gentle River Thames trip, there are a number of operators who offer a variety of cruises, including a 40-minute Windsor round-trip and a four hour one-way sail from Runnymede to Hampton Court. If you’d rather stay on dry land, and like walking, then take advantage of part of the 294km Thames Path. It runs through Windsor and you could walk from Windsor to Maidenhead, which is only 13km, then catch the train back.
Windsor is so much more than just the castle and this set of articles has only just scratched the surface with what is on offer in the area.