21/10/2010

this was to be our last day in London, and so took our time in the morning, slept in a bit a& had a late breakfast (8.15 instead of 8), packed and left our bags at reception.

Our plan today was to see Windsor Castle, which getting there involved an underground train then a National train to Windsor. We had some fun trying to find the right train to catch, but eventually were directed to “upstairs” from the underground. When we arrived “upstairs” we found a whole other train station on top of & larger than the one we had been catching the underground from. It was a bit like Harry Potter and platform 9 ¾.

We weren’t really sure what to expect of Windsor Castle, because it wasn’t on my suggestions of things to do, so I hadn’t really researched it, but once I read a brochure about it I really wanted to see it. On the train from Slough to Windsor, we were met with this amazing Castle sitting high on the hill as the train came into the station  & both of us looked at  each other in awe.

The train station of Windsor and the village itself is full of shops, eateries, restaurants and most of the buildings are heritage listed and over 500 years old.

We bought our tickets for the castle and received another free audio set that guides you through the castle. We got to see Queens Marys miniature doll collection, her dolls, and most importantly the state apartments. This place even out did Westminster Abbey, and once again I cant put words to describe the opulence, grandeur and hisitorical significance of this place. We both felt priviledged to have been able to see this place and I even had tears in my eyes at times with the emotion of the place.

There is also St Georges Cathedral within the castle surrounds and we saw the crypts/tombs of King Henry VIII, King George v, The Queen mother, Princess Margaret & many many more. This tour also took over 2 hours so once we left the castle we stopped at another local pub and had Steak & Kidney Pie while Marty had the beef & ale pie again.

We had a slow walk around the village, down to the Thames and back through a beautiful park, back to the station where we made our way back to the B&B to collect our luggage.

We then made our way back to the station where we caught several trains & at present I am writing this one of these trains on our way to Harwich International to catch the overnight ferry to Amsterdam. We have a sleeper with ensuite & breakfast & arrive tomoroow at 7.30 am where my our journey will continue.