Cousins Catchup 2024 – Windsor Castle

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It’s that time of year again! It’s our annual get-together with our cousins (from Ann’s side of the family).

We try and meet as a family group at least once a year around this time, where for 2024, we’ve picked the iconic Windsor Castle as the destination. Last time we were here was way back in May 2009 with Nicki, but we’re not expecting it to have changed very much! 😉

Previous ‘Cousins Catchups’…
Shuttleworth (July, 2021)
Kew (October, 2021)
Hampton Court (July, 2022)
Hatfield House (June, 2023)

Windsor, as a destination, is a bit of a hike for us by car, and so we made a long weekend of it, staying in nearby Eton at the rather unassuming, Christopher Hotel.

Saturday

10.47am: We left home just after 10.45am. We had the route all mapped out, but the car sat-nav had other ideas as we approached the A43, as it took us on a scenic route avoiding the first five miles or so of our usual route! We put it down to a glitch associated with me updating the car’s maps yesterday, but that wasn’t it! We should have had more faith in the tech because as we emerged back onto the A43 some twenty-five minutes later, now on the other side of Towcester, we could see that the A43 ‘behind us’ was closed in both directions! Phew! Clever old sat-nav!

Hello Marlow!

12.55pm: From then on, it was a straightforward journey and just before Eton, we made a ‘pitstop’ of sorts – we stopped off in Marlow – about 30 minutes NW of our destination – or as we like to call it: ‘Poshville’. Being a Saturday. parking was a real challenge, but we eventually found the Sainsbury car-park and allowed ourselves two hours’ parking.

Everywhere in the town was busy! Clearly, ‘Poshville’ had got it right, and there was no sign of the oft-quoted line: ‘The High Street is dying!’ 👍

Why Marlow? Ann had never been here, whilst the last time I was here must have been the mid-80s for a client meeting. It seemed like a good place to stop and kill some time before we could check into our hotel in Eton after 2.30. But before all that – some Lunch! We chose ‘The Cedar’ for a light-bite. Another busy place but we found a table for two in the corner (right next to the loo!) – classy huh?! 😊

A couple of Paninis later, we were all sorted and ready to explore Marlow’s High Street and the surrounding area.

It became obvious pretty quickly that this place attracted wealth. I saw more personalised number plates today that probably in my whole life – even two taxis were sporting them!! 😮. We also saw at least three Art Galleries on our quick wander up and down the main drag – surely a sign of money?Kettering, this ISN’T! We therefore weren’t too surprised to NOT see a Primark and whilst looking at the prices of properties in a few of the Estate Agents confirmed that only the rich live around here! How does £2950 per week grab you as a rental or almost £3m for a house??? 🤔

Wealth aside, Marlow is very picturesque – especially down by the river and there were plenty of people doing exactly the same as us, just wandering about, enjoying the scenery.

2.25pm: We said goodbye to ‘Poshville’ and headed towards Eton and our bed for the night via Slough – what a contrast! 😯

2.57pm: It was a pretty straightforward journey to the hotel, with the only challenge being how narrow the hotel’s entrance was. Just our luck then, that as we passed through the arch, an Audi A4 was heading towards us. After probably the shortest ‘Mexican Standoff’ ever, he reversed, allowing us to drop into a parking space on the right. As luck would have it, it was OUR space for the next few days! 👍

We were soon ‘plugged-in’ and checking in too!

After the short climb of a few stairs, Room 23 awaited us…

Our room was very well appointed! With a TV almost the same size as our bed and a bath so large, it should have had a lifeguard notice, we had all we needed for our short stay here – and more! A coffee machine, plenty of electrical sockets, a sizeable wardrobe, a dressing table, a decent electric shower and modern lighting throughout completed the picture. At around £170 per night including breakfast (and free EV charging too) we felt that it was great value, given the area (we found it via Booking.com)

4.15pm: With the unpacking completed (of which I played NO part) we decided to go exploring around Eton.

We turned right out of the hotel entrance and just 60 seconds later, we seemed to be crossing the small bridge (the Windsor-Eton Bridge aka Windsor Town Bridge aka Eton Bridge read all about its rich history HERE) across the Thames and were now actually in Windsor! I hadn’t realised how close to Windsor, Eton actually was. Some eateries, a few bookshops, a few Pubs and that was pretty much it! 😯. Perhaps tomorrow, we’ll turn LEFT towards the famous Eton College to see what else this quaint town has to offer?

Certainly, Windsor’s main drag seemed a lot more familiar from my days working with clients in the area. Had it changed much? Well, YES! Based on (just) today, it seemed far busier, much noisier, a bit tatty in places and a lot more culturally diverse.

It certainly had a buzz about the place where just like Poshville Marlow, property seemed to be VERY expensive!

4.45pm: Whilst we were out and about, we decided to eat early. Windsor is certainly blessed with plenty of choiceS, but in the end, we chose The Ivy opposite Windsor Castle.

A good menu, great service and above all, our choices were DELICIOUS and well presented! Two courses later and with change from £75 (including drinks and a service charge) it all felt very reasonable! 👍

5.55pm: We took the very pleasant short walk back to the Hotel where in the relatively brief time we’d been in the restaurant, the town had quietened down quite a bit. It was a beautiful evening too – pleasantly warm with a hint of a cool breeze! Also, whilst we’d been ‘refuelling’, Evie had been doing the same where in an example of perfect timing, as we approached the Hotel, the car pinged our phones to tell us it had fully charged!

7.05pm: A relaxing evening in front of the TV! Tomorrow we storm the Castle!

Sunday

6.45am: Morning! Up with the lark this morning! Well, not actually a lark…. but it did have wings! Possibly one of the few downsides of living in this area is that from 6am each day… every day… the sound of aeroplanes heading for Heathrow provides a natural alarm clock. I suppose the locals just ‘tune it out’ but if I was paying what they’re paying for their properties, I’d insist on a quieter start to my day! 🤔. As an American tourist once said: “How come they built Windsor Castle on the flight path to Heathrow Airport? Isn’t that kinda dumb?”

Ah, bless! 😉

9.20am: We enjoyed the fullest of a ‘Full English’ to start our day before heading back to the room. Even during the short 10-metre walk to and from breakfast, we could already feel it was going to be a hot day ahead – cue plenty of lotion and a good job we packed hats!! 🥵🥵. We had a bit of time to kill before meeting the family, so we turned LEFT out of the Hotel (towards Eton College) for an idle wander around. Not surprisingly, buildings related to the College dominated the skyline together with some truly ‘olde worlde’ shops.

10.45am: Next stop was the now familiar walk across the Bridge, across the road and up the hill towards Windsor Castle.

As we headed towards the Visitor Entrance, it looked as if we’d all arrived around the same time. After the quick hugs, kisses and ‘hellos’, we assembled for the obligatory group photo…

11.02am: With Kate taking temporary charge of us all and after canvassing views on what we wanted to see first – the votes were in! Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and then the State Apartments. Some of us picked up the free mobile-phone sized audio guides and these turned out to be extremely useful if you required a deeper level of detail about what was to come.

11.19am: Based on the length of the queue, it was clearly a popular choice! We debated whether to come back later, but in the end, decided to queue with the rest of mankind (a good decision, as it turned out, as by the time we were got to the front, the queue was three times as long!). Disappointingly, there was no photography allowed once inside (in spite of some people attempting to bend the rules!). So, in the absence of any pictures, long story short, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House was built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V. It’s 1:12 scale where everything has been crafted to an astonishing level of detail. I’m not an expert in such matters, but the attention to detail was phenomenally high and you can read more about it here.

Next, was the State Apartments. Again, no photography was allowed, and again, there were a few who tried (but were quickly and politely discouraged at lightning speed by the staff). As their title suggests, the State Apartments are a series of connected rooms. Visually, they have to be seen to be believed! Shiny and very blingy! Overall, this was an abundance of ‘obvious wealth’ featuring weapons, paintings, furniture, paintings, crockery and cutlery etc. In the absence of any pictures, take a look here for a sense of the size and scale. For that reason alone, it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it was very well presented and there was plenty to demonstrate ‘how the other half live’. 😉

There is plenty to see, and you should allow at least an hour – maybe longer, if you’re a true Royalist!

12.45pm: As we took the gentle walk down the hill towards the exit, the day was now at its hottest. Pity the poor guy above then! 😮, who didn’t move a muscle in spite of nuisances like me, trying to ‘get the shot’. It might have been distant thunder, but it was more likely to have been our tummies rumbling. Consequently, we then made plans for lunch. Some of us had brought picnics where the nearby River Thames beckoned (and was an obvious choice) whilst a few of us preferred somewhere cooler instead. Roger, Jane, Ann and I were in the second group and we headed for the nearest Pub in the shape of The Carpenter’s Arms, nearby.

1.05pm: Thankfully, it was beautifully cool inside, and we were soon seated and looking through the menu.

After this morning’s enormous breakfast, Ann and I opted for sharing a Starter (that’s a first!) – and it went down a treat! 👍. Roger & Jane made it their treat and it was good to be in the cool, just chatting about ‘this and that’. After lunch we went off in search of the rest of the family. After a short period of confusion about their location, we all met up near the River for a walk.

2.10pm: It really was the perfect day for it, but where most of Windsor, it seemed, had the same idea! 🤔. After a while, thoughts of walking quickly turned to thoughts of ice-cream! 😋😋 and we went in search of such a place (that if we were lucky also had seating inside AND air-conditioning). We nearly gave up and having now wandered back across Eton Bridge and past our Hotel! We were almost about to give up as we got closer and closer to where Ann and I began our day – near Eton College. Luckily, we saw a family walking towards us enjoying the elusive item! A quick conversation followed, and we were soon quickening our pace towards ‘Tudor’s’.

2.28pm: Apparently Tudor’s is a bit of an institution (well, at least in Eton). Today it serves Burgers, Milkshakes and most important of all – Ice-cream – as well as other fine refreshments such as Haribos and Slush Puppies. It reminded me of a sophisticated school Tuck Shop where nutritional value wasn’t high on their Mission Statement! The shop apparently opened in 1799 and has been proud to serve the local community for all those years, including Eton College. All we knew was that we were quickly running out of options and there seemed to be enough different flavours of ice-cream for each of us to have something different AND inside was beautifully cool! In other words PERFECT – and we spent the next hour putting the world to rights! 😊

3.35pm: Wow! What a day! We said our goodbyes on Eton Bridge and Ann and I wandered back to our Hotel after picking up some cold drinks along the way.

3.45pm: Back at The Christopher, we took advantage of the Hotel’s ‘free drink voucher’ and settled in the Bar, reflecting on the day, over a beer and a G&T!

4.05pm: Back in the room/feet up and absolutely no more food in any form for the rest of the day/An evening in front of the TV! 😮😮. Tomorrow, after breakfast, we’re heading home!

What a fantastic long weekend! 👍👍