Windsor Castle

[Blazer2]

Have a full day in London and would like to go out from Central London (Westminster area) to Windsor Castle and back.

 

Have looked at a couple of tours but they seem to go only in the afternoons. Want to head out early in the day. Should I buy tickets for the castle ahead of time?

 

Can someone give me some tips. Have never taken trains or public transportation but am open to it. Just show me how.

 

Thanks,

 

Becky

[Cruise NH]

If you're staying in the Westminster area then the London Waterloo station would probably be most convenient.

 

This is the link to Southwest trains in the UK

 

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/

 

They have trains leaving almost every half hour or so to Windsor/Eton. I think a non-stop would take about an hour.

 

The Windsor train station is right in the middle of town. There's a little pedestrian mall area then up a little hill to the castle. If you have time, I'd suggest going down to the river as well, very pretty with a nice park.

 

I don't know if it's worth it to get Windsor tickets in advance. The line moved pretty fast when we were there, so it's up to you. As far as the train goes...we went out of Waterloo to Southampton once and just bought the tickets there before leaving. You can also buy them advance via their website if you want, but I don't think it's necessary.

 

Have a great trip!

[handfordr]

You do not really need to purchase tickets in advance.

Going independently is much better than a tour. You get an audio tour device with admission, which is fine. Most of the tours guides don't come into the castle anyway, so you're not losing anthing there. Most people take about 2 hours to go around the Castle, but there is much more to Windsor than the castle, you could easly spend the day.

Gates open at 09:45 each morning the time that an awful lot of coach tours doing Windsor and two other places arrives. Because of the logistics and opening times of Windsor nearly all these coach tours arrive at 09:30 and leave 11:30 after the Changing of the Giard at 11:00. So you might want to visit Eton, Runnymede or the many other sights in the morning and do the castle in the afternoon.

There is a wide variety of ways of getting to Windsor Castle by public transport from London, (see link below)

 

Central London to Windsor Castle by Public Transport

[pkamison]

Take the train - it is very easy. The little town is great with lots of shops and places to eat. You can walk across the bridge to Eton (it is charming). Just be prepared as it is a fair amount of walking but worth it. make sure you see everything at Windsor Castle as it is great. Enjoy !

[Giantfan13]

We did one of those 3 stop tours (Windsor, Bath, Stonehenge) and like handfordr said, we arrived precisely at 9:30 and left about 11:30. The only thing I might differ from what he said, and only if you are interested in their changing of the guard, is try to get to the Castle about 10:30. Yes it will be crowded and if you want to see the Changing of the Guard, you will have to get to the spot about that time, but after it is over, most tour groups leave and you will have a lot more room to roam around. I Wanted to see the Changing of the Guard, so it was important that we be there at that time. It is a pretty good show.

[TLCOhio]

Take the train - it is very easy. The little town is great with lots of shops and places to eat. You can walk across the bridge to Eton (it is charming). Just be prepared as it is a fair amount of walking but worth it. make sure you see everything at Windsor Castle as it is great. Enjoy !

 

Agree with the posters BOTH that Windsor is worth the visit and fairly easy to do. The rail station is very close and almost across the street from where you enter the castle. Its look on the inside of this royal residence is very different than the "rustic" outside of the castle look. Very interesting and enjoyable, both the castle and town.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio