Lunch on the Thames, a walk in Windsor

Boarding the "Windsor Sceptre" On 10 September 2024 we boarded a coach at the start of our journey to visit Windsor.  About 2 hours later, we were parked in the Windsor Coach Park, with only one other coach there.  That is the benefit of off-season travel.  It is only a short walk across Alexandra Park to the river's edge.  Here there are a few ducks and plenty of swans.  They congregate around the boats because people feed them.  In this instance they were disappointed, but one bad experience does not change a life-times experience. On the boat, it was touch and go if we would get a seat together - after some people moved around (not for us!) we did.  The ploughman's lunch was already laid out.  It was a good lunch, with cheese, ham, pork pie, and plenty of salad.  The boat moved off, upstream, at the regulation speed of 5 MPH or less.  We ate lunch and chatted to the couple on the other side of the table. Nearly at the M4 bridge, we turned for home.  I'd call it a U turn, but that's not quite right.

A view of Windsor Castle from the river On the way back there was a running commentary, telling us about the big houses, churches, a film studio, and other feature along the river.  Most of it, although very interesting at the time, I have not retained.  One piece of the commentary I do remember was his long description of the lock and how the water that moves through it is entirely moved by gravity.  This was presented in a way that made it sound exceptional, although it is the way the vast majority of locks work.  The gates, however, are powered, which is relatively unusual.  The boat was stopped and turned through 360 degrees so that we could all take pictures of the castle.  We later confirmed the flag was the union flag, not the King's Standard, so our King was not resident in the castle that day.

A swan's head looking sideways at the camera On our return, just before 2pm, we were greeted by the swans, this one looking suspiciously at my phone, judging correctly that it was inedible.  We didn't stay with the swans for very long, soon making our way back across the park and up the stairs to go over the railway station bridge and on into Windsor.  We had 2 hours to look around before the coach left for home.

Us on the bridge, with the castle behind Most of the way up, I was trying to get a selfie with the castle in the background.  Happily, one of our fellow travellers offered to take the picture, so I have a much better result.  After the stairs there is a station and a shopping mall, in which is a replica railway engine.

Engine 3041 "The Queen" The locomotive is a full scale replica of the GWR Achilles class 4-2-2 locomotive No. 3041. It was built in 1894 and originally named "Emlyn" after Lord Emlyn, Chairman of the Great Western Railway Company. Repainted in 1897 in GWR livery, the great locomotive, 57 feet long, was renamed "The Queen" especially to pull the six new carriages of the Royal Train. No examples of these locomotives survive today, and "The Queen" (later renamed "James Mason") was withdrawn from service in 1912.

The Last Supper - Francis Cleyn We were trying to wander around the Queen's Walkway, but we were not sure exactly where we were.  We found and went inside St John the Baptist church, where this painting was displayed above the main entrance.  The real painting shines out at you.  I suppose that's a combination of the skill of the painter and the lighting designer.  It's worth a visit if you're in the area.

The Long Walk     Finally, we strolled along the 'Long Walk' for a little while, then left the grassed area and returned via the surrounding streets. As we got back to the park, the rain started.  We had been fortunate that the forecast rain was much later than expected.  Now, the coach driver took the strain of the drive round the M25 and back to Billericay.  We picked up fish and chips in the high street and enjoyed them at home. A thoroughly enjoyable day!