Windsor Castle and one of the Queen's dogs.

Windsor Castle has being a place I have wanted to visit ever since I came to England almost 2 years ago. On Saturday Brad, Nada, and me made our way down the M4 motorway to the city of Windsor. I have being to Windsor twice before but never made it inside the castle. I never really had the time. Windsor Castle is the largest occupied castle in the world and is one of three official residences of HRM Queen Elizabeth II who just happened to be at the castle at the same time. We didn't get to see her this time as she was out riding but we did happen to see one of her Corgi dogs being walked by the head Housekeeper of Windsor Castle.


We took a small 30 tour around the castle before it dropped off us in front of the entrance to the State Apartments. During the tour I found out that the flagpole that has either the Union Jack flying or the Royal Flag (when the queen is in residence) was donated by Canada on behalf of the Canadian people.

Windsor Castle is about 1000 years old but obviously it was on the same scale back then as it is today. The castle was built by William the Conqueror and was originally just a wooden structure and only the round tower was built then. The Round Tower is still the main focal point of the castle but today it is made of stone and quite a lot bigger.

Upon entering the State Apartments we first went into the Doll House area to see Queen Mary's famous doll house. Its was huge. At least 10ft tall. We also went into the drawing room to see one of the largest collections of Leonardo Da Vinci drawings in the world. They only had a few on display through but it was still really impressive to see. There was also works there from Michelangelo and a few other famous artists. From there it was on to see many pictures of the Queen and the Royal family before finally making our way into the State Apartments themselves. It took us about 1.5 hour to go around all the rooms you could and each one was unique and incredible in its own way. From the Waterloo room to the weapons room you could spend hours just walking around and looking at all the treasures inside. There was no photography allowed inside so if you want to see what its like I suggest looking it up on the internet or coming over to England to see it for yourself. Its worth the trip.

When we left the State Apartments we made our way back to a few places in the tour to get a few more pictures of the courtyard, guards, and gardens. It was starting to get a bit late and we were all quite hungry so we made our way down to St. Georges Chapel inside the castle walls where Henry the VIII and the Queen Mother are buried. The choir was inside practicing so we were able to watch them and hear the sound with the acoustics inside. Really amazing!!! The Chapel is also home to the annual gathering of the Order of the Garter. It is one of the oldest orders of knights and one of the most limited in numbers with no more than 25 members allowed. If one of the knights can't attend a meeting or gathering then one of the "military knights" who live in the castle stand in on their behalf. Click here if you want to learn more about it.

We left the castle and walked down the main street to a pub overlooking the castle. Brad and Nada treated me to a great pub lunch before we made our way back to the car and then back to Bristol. It was a great day out and another place to check off the list.





Dont worry we didn't forget to do a jumping shot!!!!