A Day Trip to Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle has been on our travel agenda since quite some time and finally we planned a day trip to the castle during winter. For those not very familiar with the castle, Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as a Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties. Many parts of the Castle are open to the public, including the precincts, the State Apartments, Queen Mary's famous dolls' house, St George's Chapel, and the Albert Memorial Chapel.

Windsor and Eton Central station

We planned our favorite transport for reaching this place e.g. the British Railways and after reaching London Paddington took a connecting First Great Western train to Windsor and Eton Central station. Although a small part is still a railway station, most of the station building has been converted into a tourist-oriented shopping center  called Windsor Royal Shopping. It is situated on the High Street, almost immediately opposite Castle Hill, the main public entrance to Windsor Castle.

Castle from Outside

Inside the Castle

A Castle Tower

You can see many views of the Castle in these pictures.

Inside the Castle

Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte and bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century.

A Sentry on Duty

Windsor Castle occupies a large site of more than thirteen acres (five hectares), and combines the features of a fortification, a palace, and a small town. The present-day castle was created during a sequence of phased building projects, culminating in the reconstruction work after a fire in 1992.










One of the public duties battalions or incremental companies is responsible for providing the guard at Windsor Castle. You can notice the difference in color of their dress as compared to the bright red dress worn by the guard at Buckingham Palace.

The South Wing of the Upper Ward

And this picture on the right remains my favorite picture of this trip. The magnificent South Wing of the Upper Ward standing behind the bright green grass remains one grand view of the castle not be missed.

A Cruise on Thames

While returning from the castle we decided to explore a stretch of river Thames which passes through Windsor. The picture on the left remains one of my all time favorites. A white boat sailing through the river like a swan against the backdrop of trees devoid of any leaves. This looks more like a painting. We spent around an hour here soaking our eyes in these calm and serene views.

With this it's time to say bye again. Keep coming back for an exciting coverage of European attractions in my forthcoming blogs.