REVIEW WEEK ON SEVERN WISHES
A Day Trip to Windsor Castle
During April I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend away with family. We decided that since we were staying close to Windsor Castle we would visit and spend the day there. Having not been to Windsor as an adult I jumped at the chance to experience this amazing place.
We got up early from our stay at the Premier Inn, had a good breakfast and got ready for our day trip. We were a little disappointed by the weather on the day that we went to Windsor, it was very wet with rain showers and fairly cold too. However the Castle was still looking incredible in all it’s splendor.
I took many photograph’s of the outside of the Castle, you are unfortunately not allowed to take images inside the buildings. So I will write reviews of the sections that I visited even if I don’t have an image to show you, and use my photographs that I have gotten to break up my day.
We booked our tickets online so that we could attend the fastest queue to get into the Castle. I can definitely recommend you doing this, it saved us hours of queuing time, although we have to queue for almost an hour. This was due to it being a Bank Holiday weekend and the whole town was busy. You also have to go through a search with yourself and your bag before being allowed into the castle.
There are beautiful stone walls, trees and sections of garden to look upon. As you walk around the Castle you cannot believe the sheer size of the place.
Walking around the Castle grounds you can see St George’s Chapel. It was an incredible place to walk through, steeped in both British and Royal history. The stained glass windows were beautiful, and I couldn’t believe how detailed the chapel was throughout its interior.
Here is a photograph of mine from the outside, due to the rain its Gothic splendor looking even more incredible. And as you can see by the crowds heading inside the weather does not put the tourists off.
My family and I decided we wanted to go inside the Castle, just to witness and experience exactly what it was like. Rooms were filled with all sorts of Paintings and Tapestries as well as Furniture from all centuries. The Castle is so old so you can imagine the pieces you can bestow, such as Clocks, Cabinets and China.
I was very impressed by the rooms, although it was so busy we just had to keep steadily flowing with the traffic of people. We didn’t get to hang around in one particular room, but the things that stick in my mind after my visit were the cabinets filled with incredible China, the restored sections of the Tower that was once destroyed in Fire, and the many pieces of Armor and Weapons that were on the walls.
We were also very lucky to see the changing of the guard when we finished our tour of the Castle interior. These people are very disciplined in their job, it was a fascinating sight to see.
The only disappointing thing for us was the lack of facilities. Being pregnant I expected to see more toilets and also perhaps areas to sit and rest and refresh, to get drinks and snacks. But there was only one small place that we found, that sold souvenirs, water bottles and ice cream. This was a shame and it meant that we left the Castle earlier than we had planned to go and find nourishment after walking around for several hours.
Before we left I managed to have a photograph in front of the Castle Postbox!
Here are some interesting facts that I learnt about Windsor Castle.
1. Windsor Castle is currently home to HM Queen Elizabeth II and her family. Other prior Royals to have resided there include forty others, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The original monarch to live in the Castle was Henry I, and Henry VIII regularly visited during his lifetime and stayed in the Castle grounds.
2. The windows were all blacked out during World War II, this was partially to protect the Royal Family who still remained inside at night time – although this was not public knowledge at the time of the war – and a lot of the famous china and art work such as the paintings were all moved away to protect them from potential bombings.
3. Back in 1992 there was a fire in one of the towers of Windsor Castle. Over 100 of the rooms were either damaged by the fire itself or by the water used to extinguish it. It cost almost £40 million to restore the Castle to its former glory.
4. Windsor Castle is both the largest and oldest inhabited Castle in the World, and it was originally built around 1000 years ago. St George’s Chapel is located in the Castle walls and was built from the late 15th century to the early 16th. It has a Gothic style and is breathtakingly beautiful with many stained glass windows.
2018 Opening Times
1st November – 28th February – 9.45 until 16.15 (Last Admission 15.00)
1st March – 31st October – 9.30 until 17.15 (Last Admission 16.00)
Ticket Prices
Adult – £21.20
Over 60/Student (Valid ID) – £19.30
Under 17/Disabled – £12.30
Under 5 Free
Family (2 Adults & 3 Children Under 17) £54.70
To Book or check other information you can visit this website.
I realise I am submitting this Review and Travel Post of Windsor Castle on a very special day, the day of The Royal Wedding! It felt appropriate seeing as I was only there recently myself. So to Harry and Meghan – Congratulations! Congrats to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!
Thanks for reading this post, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you have ever been to Windsor yourself why not leave me a comment and let me know what you thought!
✩ Sabrina ✩