Windsor

 May 12th. Hot - told by a lady in one store that it was 25 degrees.

We left Winchester at 9am and followed the M3 on Lady Satnav’s instructions.   I’m learning to trust her!  Although I admitted a panic when initially the signs said London!  Very little traffic for the first half hour or so.  Just after Basingstoke there was an AA recovery van on the side - all flashing lights and high vis vests.

Then yet another dead animal for the tick box - this time a hare.   Hopefully there will be some live animals soon 😉

It was interesting reading the road signs as so many of the names seemed familiar from my reading: Aldershot, Farnborough, Bagshot, Ascot.   

But then there were interesting and new names like Martyr Worthy.    Just past Ascot there were tricky roundabouts and my driver got a slight case of the wobbles.  Then there was a mini traffic light showing red and five horses rode across the highway.   Beautifully groomed animals they were, one dapple grey, and their riders in full kit.   Vast park areas to the left and to the right I’m assuming were part of His Majesty’s Estate.

Then the road turned and “oh wow. It’s the castle”!   Lady Satnav guided us to Victoria Car park and yet another tight manoeuvre to park - fortunately fewer vehicles this time.   Then the pay and display was not displaying so we found another and successfully left the paper on the dashboard and ambled off into town.   First turning at the brick wall and it said Coldstream Guards.   The Victoria Barracks are what gave the name to the car park.  High brick walls meant no view inside but were a good landmark for our return.

And we found our way the high street and of course had to visit the castle gate first to confirm where we go tomorrow.   A very pleasant uniformed lady of The Royal Collection Trust was happy to answer questions and advise where would be a good place to park.   She was a mine of information as to our chagrin, the Information Centre was closed Sunday and Monday.   While we were talking to her a handsome uniformed guardsman walked by and I asked her if he was one of the Coldstream Guards.   No, the current regiment on guard is the Irish Guards.   Windsor is a garrison town she told us and only yesterday the Changing of the Guard from The King’s Gurkhas to the Irish Guards had taken place. Changing of the Guard takes place only Tuesday Thursday and Saturday. She told us that as we are ticket holders we can enter at 9:30 and can spend all day there until the gates close at 5pm.  So we decided today to wander the town.   

First stop was this wonky shop - on such a lean I refused to go upstairs or on the left as it could tip over!! A cheery lady who told us she was from the Dominican Republic brought the requested two pots of tea and said they use leaf tea so we could have free refill.   Just as well, we were parched.   So at 11am I had a delicious bowl of creamy porridge, rhubarb and nuts.   It was sublime.   An interesting couple at the next door table.  Seems as if they come every Sunday at 9:30 opening and sample wines.   Admittedly the owner man was very knowledgeable but this couple were fun to watch.   “Where are you from?”   The lady was a well lubricated chatty.  Immediately after we said New Zealand she commented “you have lots of good wines in Australia”.  Huh!   The shop had only one NZ wine on its extensive list and that was listed at £52 a bottle.   I silently assumed she and her husband would consider that too expensive.  But no!   They spent £210 on  bottles of wine and cheerfully went out into the sunshine with a “see you next week” to the owner.   He must like this regular custom as when they paid cash for their bottle haul he told them that would help his holiday in the Cotswolds on Monday and Tuesday.

Next we rode an hour on the Hop on Hop Off bus which took us out to Datchet Village, Eton and around much of the great Windsor Estate.  Frogmore House has an exceedingly long driveway, just as well the mailbox isn’t at the gate.  I think I learned that it was Prince Phillip’s entrepreneurial spirit that is responsible for the multitude of  farm shops throughout England as he started this one at Windsor in some old Victorian Potting Sheds.   The commentary on the bus was difficult to hear so I may have got that wrong.

Back in town we noticed an old church that had a sign saying there was Treasure on display - a painting of the Last Supper  on loan from St George’s Chapel.   Not the Da Vinci one it was nevertheless old and well displayed in the old church.   

There was also a copy of Holman Hunt’s famous painting.

And we then decided to sit on the shady side of the street with a cool drink and do some people watching.   Delicious drink of lime, mint and lemonade.  The people watching sometimes got overtaken by the antics of drivers attempting to turn on a narrow street, to drive into what isn’t a street and to cars just stopping without warning to allow their well clad fashionable female passengers to alight.   

Windsor is under the flight path for Heathrow so every two or three minutes( it seemed) planes flew over head.

Then re-energised we wandered off and found today’s bonuses.

A horse drawn carriage clip clopping along the street.

The gates used to close the street when the royals need to drive through.

And I walked where Queen Elizabeth II may have walked.

And found a Bachelor’s Garden which unfortunately is not where one finds Bachelors.  Instead it commemorates the time in 1809 when The Bachelors of Windsor renovated the area and celebrated with a hog roast and plum pudding.

Lilly’s Tea Shoppe provided a Cream Tea before we went back to the car and successfully found our apartment accommodation for the next two nights.