Windsor Castle

You don't get to see many castles in the US, so I definitely wanted to tour at least one during my time in the UK. Today...I ventured to Windsor Castle.

The trip from London was really easy. It's only a 25-30 minute train ride from Paddington Station. Unfortunately, it wasn't bright and sunny as I hoped it would be. But, the Castle itself is so beautiful that I didn't mind the weather so much. Daphne mentioned that the town of Windsor is really cute, so I planned to take a look around. As I walked towards the Castle, I saw all sorts of shops. I almost started to go shopping first but I kept walking and after a really short walk from the train station, I was there.

They give you an audio guide with your admission and I was on my way. (Thank God, because I have grown to really love those things.) As I entered the grounds and walked in the inner walls, I was surprised at how many buildings there were. I had thought Windsor Castle would just be one big, huge building. But, in fact, it was a group of buildings covering over 26 acres of land. The Queen considers it her primary residence and you can tell when she is "home" by the flag flying over one of the towers. If the royal standard is flying (instead of the Union Jack), then she is there. She was not there to greet me for my visit. (How rude!)

I started my tour off with Queen Mary's doll house. I know it sounds riveting, doesn't it? I almost skipped it, but when I got into the display area...I could not believe the detail. Everything is done to scale and the miniature palace is complete with electricity and a plumbing system. Pretty amazing stuff. It is really unfortunate that you can't take any pictures because it really was an amazing piece of craftsmanship.

From there, I toured the State Apartments. Each of the rooms had gorgeous views of Windsor. I could see why the Queen picked it as a primary residence. Maybe I'll stay there next time ;) Again, I could not take pictures inside...but I've included one that I found online to give you an idea of the opulence. It's hard to believe that people actually use these rooms but in addition to the Queen staying there, events of State and official ceremonies are held in these rooms. In 1992, there was a fire in the castle so there has been some work done to restore the areas that were damaged. But all the renovation was done in the same method and style as the original work so it's really not that obvious what was new and was was original. Much of the tapestries survived, so I really liked seeing the huge portraits different members of the British Monarchy over the years.

After the State Apartments, I went into St. George's Chapel. It houses 10 royal tombs (creepy). My favorite part was in the choir room, but not because of my lovely singing voice. Banners, crests and helmets of the Knights of the Garter hang over the choir. Again, I couldn't take pics inside...so I included one to show what I'm talking about.

By the time I was done at St. George's, I was famished. I walked around town and grabbed lunch before jumping on the train back to London. Good timing too...it was starting to rain just as I left.

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