A Walk in the Park

Younger sister brother and I having decided to take long walks every few weeks, Thursday this week being my turn, I selected Windsor for the walk, not least because we could wander up "The Long Walk" from Windsor Castle to the Copper Horse.

The pictures below illustrate our 13 mile walk quite well although it became too dark for decent photograph towards the finish, as darkness falls so early in winter.  

From Windsor and Eton Station we walked to Windsor Castle. The main change since my own school days in Old Windsor  a few years back is that there are security barriers along the road by the Castle presumably to protect the Queen. From there we walked up the Long Walk to the Copper Horse; see above and below.

Then on quite a way through Windsor Great Park to Bishopsgate where we all exited and gratefully sat down to  decent beer and lunch at the newly reopened Fox and Hounds pub.

After lunch there was another long walk this time to the grounds of  my old long since closed, old school, Beaumont College.  

We ventured outside and a couple of pictures below illustrate how quiet it was:

Going inside was also straightforward. Apart from one or two cleaners there were no members of staff about and no guests to be seen. 

The College chapel now a dance hall and  dining area still shows the stained glass window that used to be above the chapel altar.

We left quietly and walked down the drive to the River Thames where the picture below of the walking companions was taken.

Then on to the National Trust lodge next to  Runnymede. Runnymede  was formerly used as rugby playing fields by the School. The lodge itself like the pub earlier had only just reopened so we were able to enjoy some tea and  cake together and take a short break.

After tea, onto the Magna Carta memorial of 1215 signed by King John to I recollect, the mother of parliaments namely the Houses of Lords and Common though the Lords urgently need reforming now, in my view.

After viewing the  1215 Magna Carta memorial, sadly too dark for a decent picture, we walked through what was at that time, the muddy terrain of Runnymede to the Kennedy memorial, which was erected in honour of USA's President Kennedy, who tragically was assassinated. Indeed I recall speaking to Senator Edward Kennedy in 1965  when his car stopped just by some boys, including yours truly, watching and cheering by the Runnymede roadside, on his way with the Queen, formally to open the memorial all those years ago.

The intrepid walkers were pretty tired by this time but after the Kennedy memorial, pictured on the right, we walked up through paths and eventually found our way, after  more several miles, to Egham Station.

A long stopping train service back to London was expected but as we boarded the train, the guard announced that the train would no be non-stop to London Waterloo, thus ending the day's walking for us all, extremely satisfactorily.