Windsor Castle (#21)

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One thing I knew I wanted to do while in London was visit Windsor Castle.  We had never done this and it is so easy to get to by train.  We had purchased castle admittance tickets before we even left California, and booked our train tickets the night before our visit to Windsor...so easy!  Sometimes I'm just amazed by how the internet has changed our lives.  I remember when we came to England 26 years ago with the boys, we somehow managed to rent apartments in Paris and London, and B&Bs in several towns in England all without the internet.  We also booked theater tickets somehow as well as train tickets (I remember they were mailed to me in California, but I have no idea how I ordered them!

Anyway, we headed off to Windsor by tube then train and were there in no time.  

Waiting to see which platform our train will leave from at Paddington Station.  It cracks me up how everyone stands around looking up at the big board, and they suddenly scatter when their platform is announced!

You walk out of the train station in Windsor and you instantly see the castle. It is about a 5 minute walk to get to the entrance.


It's so impressive to walk out of the train station and this is the first thing you see!!

They still adore Queen Elizabeth!

And Chuck and Camilla were there to say "hi" to us!

Security screening was like going through it the airport, but we made it through quickly and got our free audio tour headsets.  It's so nice when they are included in your ticket price, and not an optional thing to purchase like here in the US.  The audio tour was great and we learned a lot.


This is St George's Chapel on the castle grounds where Megan and Harry got married.  No photos allowed inside but it is absolutely gorgeous!

Walking into the chapel all I could think of was watching the wedding on tv and all the guests walking right here to get into the wedding...all the women in their amazing hats!  

My favorite part of our visit to the Chapel were the choir stalls with all the insignias (helmets, banners, and swords) for the Knights of the Garter hanging above and enameled brass plaques with each of their heraldic plates on the walls...it was SO cool to see that!  (this photo is from the internet, since we couldn't take any).
This Chapel is where Queen Elizabeth is buried alongside Prince Philip, her parents and sister...that was a poignant thing to see.

After walking through the chapel we headed into the castle (no photos)...it was fun to see so many of the rooms.  One cool thing we learned, is if the King is in residence here, his flag flies above.  If he is not in residence then the Union Jack flies above.  
This is the Kings flag so he was here...but I guess he didn't want to come say "hi" to us!

After our tour we popped into the cafe which is in the bottom of the castle in a large room called the "undercroft", built in 1361, where they used to store the ale and wine!  So now I can say we ate at Windsor Castle...I kept waiting for Charles and Camilla to come down and join us...but they were no shows as Gary had a bowl of tomato soup (with GF roll) and I had a fantastic grilled sandwich called a Brooklyn New York sandwich (prosciutto, pesto, tomatoes, and arugula).



And this REALLY impressed me!  I have not mentioned this before, but most of the public bathrooms at tourist attractions (all through England)  have free menstrual supplies (pads and tampons)...why can't the US be this accepting and accommodating?!



But...I digress...back to Windsor!  We walked outside and I saw these 4 fellows walking toward this gate.  I went to the gate to take a photo and the first guy shouted "step away from the gate" several times in a very loud voice...he meant business!  As he opened the gate, and I stepped aside, I somehow ended up with a front row spot and they all marched in front of me about 4" away from me!  They must have metal plates or taps on their shoes because they are so loud when they march, and their movements are so exaggerated.  There were a bunch of little school children sitting on the other side of the walkway, and after the Grenadier Guards passed by, the little kids all started marching in big exaggerated steps behind them...it was adorable.  I asked one of the teachers how old the kids were and she said 6 years old...and they had a group of 90!!!  Granted, they had a lot of parent helpers...I think there were 4 children/adult...but still!!




I mean, seriously, can their be a more iconic image of Great Britain!?!?

After leaving Windsor Castle we walked across the bridge into the cute little town of Eton.

So many swans in the river...but no punting boats to be seen.

I loved all the Union Jacks flying in Eton.

See you later swans...

We entered the train station and headed home! (Sadly, Charles and Camilla didn't even come see us off at the train station!)











Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2026 at 2:30 PM

    I remember being so Impressed with Windsor Castle and Eton. I was there 42 years ago, so the details are a bit hazy now..So glad you enjoyed it as well!-lmk

    ReplyDelete

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