23 Francis Street, Windsor SL4 1NJ, England

The Queen’s home castle – Reviewed 23 January 2013

We initially attended a Sunday morning service at St George’s Chapel. We were a little early so we walked a short distance to the gates of Windsor Great Park in frosty but clear early morning sunshine, for a view of the castle and the magnificent tree-lined avenue down the side of Windsor Great Park. Once back at the castle, we walked across the courtyard of the lower ward to St George’s Chapel. Walking in the door of this grand ancient building was awe-inspiring. The interior has similar stone architecture to King’s College Chapel in Cambridge with intricate fan vaulted ceilings. We were invited to sit in the back row of the quire in the high-backed carved chairs of the knights who have used them over 650 years. As the castle was not open that day for visitors we bought our ticket and had it stamped so we could return another day and avoid any queues. We returned a few days later to see the castle. A guide met us and guided us around the outer ward, explaining some of the history of the castle and how the current Royal family uses it. The Queen uses Buckingham Palace as the ‘office’ while Windsor is ‘home’ and is her preferred place for spending weekends. We saw the doll’s house, portrait exhibition and crockery display which were all fascinating. Unfortunately we could not see the state apartments as they were not open after the Christmas break. Parking is available quite near to the castle. We also found Trip Advisor’s No 1 restaurant in Windsor for lunch. “Creme” serve us a very welcome hot chocolate and warm lunch. Visited January 2013.