In royal company are we...

Weds May 25 our day starts with a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomato, toast and coffee. A big day out is planned, one that requires some dedicated physical effort on our part.



The Statue of George III makes Max, on the
bottom right, look tiny



We walk from Virginia Water, located at the bottom of the Windsor Great Park, to Windsor Castle, some 12 kilometers or so. There are some signs in the park but not many tell us we are moving in the right direction. We stop a young man driving a small motorised garden cart to ask directions. Are you sure you want to walk there, he asks. Yes, we do, we reassure him. Well, it's a long way, he replies, shaking his head as if he thinks we are mad. He points us in the right direction.

The Long Walk, only three miles away
(over four kilometers)

We follow paths through the trees and shrubs past Savill Garden, up a hill, and through some big gates into a deer park. A rider on horseback passes us and we see another in the distance. It feels llike we've been walking for miles until, finally, we come to the huge bronze Statue of George III. We take a rest and are small beneath this magnificent monument. Deer gaze at us lazily from a distance and two big hares bounce across the grass below us.

Nearly there... the castle gates in our sights

From here we look straight down the Long Walk to Windsor Castle and, yes, it is a long straight walk to the castle gates, three miles to be exact. It takes us another 45 minutes to reach the gates where we stop and take a breath to see just how far we've come.

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest lived-in castle in the world and has been home to British royalty for over 900 years. After putting our backpacks through security, we take a tour with a guide to get a general overview and background. The castle is not as crowded with tourists as the Tower of London and, therefore, is more relaxed.

The moat around the Round Tower,
 which now houses royal archives 

We follow on with a self guided tour that takes us to view Queen Mary's Doll's House (built in 1923 to a scale of 1:12) which is perfect in every minute detail (a little or big girl's dream doll's house). It once even had running water to its bathrooms. Max loves the line-up of model vintage Rolls Royce cars in the underground garage.

Ropes guide us through to the Drawings Gallery, where an exhibition is on display to celebrate Prince Philip's 90th birthday.

Then up the grand staircase to the State Apartments, which are a combination of formal rooms and museum-like exhibits. We see opulence here, from kings and queens of old, and marvel at nearly everything we see, taking in the gold detail that appears on everything, creating a truly lavish effect.

Two of the Queen's men as they march
their way back to their quarters 

We walk through King and Queen's bed chambers, dressing rooms, dining rooms, drawing rooms, the Queen's Audience Chamber and the Garter Throne Room, where the new Knights of the Order of the Garter are invested. We see old paintings by the masters, illustrative Gobelin tapestries hung on walls, and on vaulted ceilings, we see beautiful scenes with cherubs painted by Antonio Verrio. We are not allowed to take photographs.

St George's Chapel is impressive too and is the place of worship for the Knights of the Order of the Garter. Kings and queens are also buried in the vaults under our feet.

We enjoy the visual beauty of this castle and knowing that it is the official residence of the Queen and Prince Charles makes it special.

St George's Chapel on the left

This part of the castle is closed to visitors
and is the Queens private living quarters

Our cute little London Cab

We decide to catch a bus back to Virginia Water but at L8 for only half the trip (then a change of bus and a final kilometer or two walk home), our driver advises us to take a cab - it is not only quicker but delivers us to the door.

Frid May 28 we collect our hire car. Hurray! We have our own wheels! It's a Kia Ceed, a nifty little car, that runs on petrol (the man at Hertz tells us it's a diesel). We hope it's economical.

We also go hardware shopping with Sophie and Chris to buy a battery operated drill/screwdriver, nails etc, so Max can create a special timber roof inside Fergus' big indoor cage. He also builds a scarecrow to keep the crows out of the chicken yard. Dressed in a bright red jacket, jeans and cap, the scarecrow sort of works, for now at least.

Soon we'll be on our way to the white cliffs of Dover!