Windsor Castle (take two)

After taking such a successful 'trip' during my last visit, I bravely took Grannie and Grandad along to Windsor Castle for the day. With Nathan taking up the slack with school pickups for the day we set off to the M4 through a mist of rain. As luck would have it Windsor itself was in a circle of sunshine making for a wonderful day out.

As we were sans children our first stop was an Italian cafe for coffee and pastries (purely to sustain us for the long day ahead!) before we headed up to the castle itself.

Mum and Dad with Queen Victoria

We were lucky with the crowds as I think the poor weather this week must have put off the tourists with the queue to gain entry much better than I would have thought it would be for this time of year. We were so busy chatting as we went in that we completely forgot to pick up our 'audio tour' information and had to make a u-turn at the top gate to collect it. It was well worth it as while on my last visit we just wandered around taking in the sights, this time I was able to take in a lot more of the Castle's long and amazing history.

Doesn't he look right at home!

Still searching for that elusive ancestral home

Armed with our audio tour guide we spent well over an hour wandering the staterooms a far cry from our whirlwind tour with Abbey along for the ride! The Castle proved just as amazing the second time round and Mum and Dad were equally impressed. It was particularly interesting to hear about the restoration process after the devastating fire in 1992, for example, who could tell that one whole room's parquetry floor had simply been lifted piece by piece and relaid upside down!

Enjoying a bit of history with the audio tour

Surveying his domain

Yep, this was the spot of my last 'trip' (my finger is still broken)

Unlike our last visit, St George's Chapel was open to the public so we were able to have a good look around. It was amazing to walk over the grave of Henry VIII and take in all the pomp and ceremony of this spiritual home of the Order of the Garter.

Mum admitted that he was 'rather cute' but she has always liked a man in uniform

It was nearly 2pm when we finally finished our time at the Castle and we hadn't stopped for lunch (thank goodness we had planned ahead and eaten those pastries!) Dad was happy to continue walking around but mum and I insisted we stop for a quick bite before doing a bit of tourist shopping.

With our afternoon out drawing to a close we took a quick walk along the banks of the Thames. I don't think I have ever seen so many swans in one place before!

It was dinner time by the time we had braved the peak hour M4. How lovely to come home to dinner being cooked and the kids all bathed - men in uniform sure do come in handy!!

Yes, they behaved themselves admirably so were rewarded with an ice cream!