A 20s and 30s Ramblers group.
This 10-mile linear walk from Virginia Water includes the full length of Windsor Great Park, from south to north, the Valley Gardens in full bloom, and finishes with the Long Walk to Windsor Castle!
Advance booking is not required, but if you plan on attending this walk, please indicate this on Meetup if you can (see Website link), so others can see that there will be plenty of people going.
Pace: medium.
Walk details
After a couple of miles of pavement walking, we’ll enter Windsor Great Park. We’ll walk an almost full loop of Virginia Water Lake, taking in all the main features - the impressive Cascade, the Roman ruins of Leptis Magna, and the Totem Pole (this could be the final chance to see the Totem Pole standing, as it is due to be laid to rest during 2024). The highlight, though, will hopefully be the Valley Gardens, where the azaleas and rhododendrons should be in full bloom and at their most colourful!
After the Totem Pole, we’ll turn north to pass the Obelisk Pond and the visitor centre for the Savill Garden – the café there may make a suitable drink stop if numbers permit. It’s not far from there before we’ll reach the edge of the Deer Park, and start enjoying broad views across the Thames Valley towards Windsor Castle. From the Copper Horse we will be able to see the rest of our route laid out in front of us: the Long Walk to Windsor Castle. The final three miles will be along this dead straight driveway, and we will probably wonder why that castle never seems to get any nearer!
Travel details
By public transport
Please catch the 10.09 train from Reading (Wokingham 10.23, Bracknell 10.30) if travelling by train. At the end of the walk, we will return from Windsor and Eton Central, changing at Slough.
As this is a linear walk, and because Virginia Water and Windsor are on different rail lines, please note when you buy your rail tickets (if travelling by train) that you will need to buy a single from (e.g.) Reading to Virginia Water and a single from Windsor to Reading. Please DO NOT buy a return to Virginia Water.
By car
Parking is available at Virginia Water station, and in the Memorial Gardens car park next door (charges apply at both). Alternatively, please park considerately in the surrounding streets. At the end of the walk, you can return to your car by getting the train from Windsor and Eton Riverside, changing at Staines to reach Virginia Water.
Notes
Virginia Water railway station
Windsor and Eton Central railway station
