Windsor

Today was an absolutely amazing day. We had a very pleasant one-hour train ride from Waterloo station to Windsor. The ride was so smooth that you almost couldn’t feel it move.

As we exited the train and looked to the left, we could see that amazing castle. It is right in the middle of the town. Even for us it was only 10-minute walk to the road leading to the entrance. Our London Pass got us in without standing in the ticket line so that was even better.

Here are some pictures of the grounds.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the Castle but here is a link to the Royal Collection Trust website which has photos of the State Apartments. They were incredible.

https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle/highlights-of-windsor-castle#/

We’re very fortunate that the special exhibit for the Platinum Jubilee was still open. We saw about a dozen of the brooches she likes to wear, the necklace and earrings she wore to the coronation (the diamonds are so big they look fake…they’re not) as well as the coronation gown and robe. It was a stunning exhibition!

One of the other cool things we saw at the Castle was the bullet that killed Lord Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. The bullet went through the epaulet on his uniform and the gold threads are still visible on the bullet. Amazing!

After the Castle we visited St. George’s Chapel. While much smaller than St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, it bigger than any chapel I’ve ever seen. This is where Harry and Meghan were married.

Inside the Chapel we saw the graves of Queen Elizabeth II family (but not Prince Philip; he’s in the Royal Vault which we didn’t see), Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, King George V and his wife Queen Mary (Elizabeth’s grandparents) plus lots more.

We spent over 3 hours touring the two building and the grounds. It was actually a little emotional. Thinking about all the history, past and current, that has taken place in that Castle since it was built by William the Conqueror in 1070 was almost overwhelming. It was well worth the train ride.

The town of Windsor is very pretty. We didn’t hang out long, just long enough to have a delicious lunch at the Carpenter’s Arms Pub before heading back to the train.

We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips.

Today was another tiring but terrific day. Still didn’t get to any of the museums Peter wants to see (British and Imperial War) but we’ll get to them eventually. Tomorrow it’s Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. These are very close to flat so we shouldn’t be walking too much. Famous last words! I’ll let you know.