Tourists for the day in Windsor.

With a very cold wind blowing this morning we made our way to Windsor Castle for the 11 o’ clock changing of the guard.

We got into the castle early enough to see the guard change in the Lower Ward.

A view of the Lower Ward with St. George’s Chapel on the left and the iconic Round Tower at the top on the right.

We first went around the State Apartments (no photography allowed), which were awesome of course, especially the rooms reconstructed after the fire in 1992.  This is the quadrangle in the Upper Ward looking across to the Queen’s personal apartments.

We had a good wander around the castle grounds, which the free audio sets made all the more interesting, and then went on to view St. Georges Chapel.  Again, no photography was allowed sadly, but we had a very informative chat to one of the guides.  He showed us photos, taken in the late 1800’s, of the inside of the tombs and catacombs below the chapel.  Amazingly, we were able to see the coffins of Henry VIII, his third wife Jane Seymour and Charles I lying directly below the Quire and a photo of the catacomb which holds the remains of many more recent royals. 

After the castle we had a very good lunch in the lovely Carpenters Arms. For £6 they offered a meal and a drink – brilliant value and superb food.  Highly recommended if anyone’s going to Windsor…….

……it’s just behind the Crooked House so it’s very easy to find.

We tried working off a bit of lunch by walking to Frogmore House (by chance we found out via the net that it was open 3 days this week, and is only open for 6 days a year).  How very fortuitous!  So, after a short walk down The Long Walk we got to Frogmore House situated on the left.

The Royal Mausoleum in the grounds of Frogmore, which Queen Victoria had built to house Prince Albert’s tomb (and where she is buried also).

Frogmore House from across the lake.  Even luckier, we were able to go into the house, which is full of Queen Mary’s collection of “other peoples” things, and where the Dining Room now houses furniture saved from the Royal Yacht Britannia by Prince Phillip.

The gardens are wonderful with many specimen trees and vast areas of lawn.  We’ve never seen mistletoe so close as this as it normally grows so high up. 

Doug in the superb gardens of Frogmore.  We were so lucky to be able to do this during our two day stay in Windsor – the Queen and the Royal Family use the gardens regularly, that’s why it’s not open very often.

The summer house, built to look like a ruin.

The front of the Mausoleum which we passed again on our way out

Well, it’s been a fantastic and interesting day for us and thankfully the weather has improved dramatically since this morning  We were able to walk back from Frogmore in a much warmer climate with the sun coming out late afternoon.  We still have the fire going though as it promises to be cold tonight.