a right royal rumpus (Windsor in general)

Member Name: pania22

Product:	Windsor in general
Date:	02/06/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a lovely lovely day out

Disadvantages: the hill could be a problem for mobility issues

Windsor, the queens back garden. and what a back garden it is. Yesterday on the hottest day of the year so far I found myself in this beautiful location, sipping a beer in the private yard of an incredibly upmarket bar (it wasn't but it sure felt like it) overlooking the river and adding to my already stinging sunburn from the day before!
If you have never been to Windsor before i would more than recommend it as a good day out. It is so much more than just a castle and some shops.

Starting at the bottom of the city standing on the river back are numerous cruise boats, small boats for hire and general "messing about on the river" offered for between £10 per hour up to a sunday roast 3 course cruise or a sunset supper cruise both for £29.95. I fully intend to head back and give one or other of these a try very soon, perhaps a treat for fathers day?

On the river front is the most delectable ice cream store that I have managed to find anywhere other than on the continent. They stock ice cream in nearly 40 flavours and all icecreams are amazingly fruity. or nutty. or chocolate chippy and almost sorbet like in consistency. absolutly amazing and extremely moreish! in fact my travelling companion wolfed his down at such amazing speed i felt sure he'd dropped it or thrown it in the bin. He assured me not! retailing at £2.25 for 2 scoops in a massive waffle cone they are not cheap but worth every penny!!!
This store also sells very generous bags full of duck/swan feed that instantly converted me back to a 5 year old again. my goodness we had a laugh!!! the local swans ducks and pigeons are clearly aware of this glut of food that is readily available and as such there are swans by the pie load (sorry) waiting to be fed. Scarey stuff you may think but not so. They are trained so as they stay in the water and are amazingly tame and gentle, even eating out of your hand. It took me an immense amount of time, courage and childish giggling to offer my hand full of food to the mass of sharp beaks waiting to rip my hand from my wrist. The actual effect was amazingly tickly and I witnessed toddlers offer their hand out with much more courage than i could muster!!! We continued our stroll along the river and had a rest on one of the many benches readily available on the bank.

This aspect of windsor would provide a lovely day out for a young family, with space for a picnic or game of ball about a ten minute stroll along the bank.

Crossing over the other side of the road is the afore mentioned bar by the name of "browns". Amazing!!! not going to say too much as i have suggested it as a new addition to Dooyoo for a full review but clean, tidy and giving the illusion of grandeur for normal pub prices. The staff are more than happy to allow you to recline in the beer garden for as long as you see fit so long as you buy a drink or two and do not constantly hassle you at your table for extra purchases.

The city of Windsor is situated on a slight hill which would cause a problem for people with mobility issues. There is however a land train that may solve this problem but i have not been on this so cannot comment on price or length of journey/stops etc.
heading up the hill the very impressive expanse of the castle lays to the left hand side of the hill with immaculatley groomed lawns edged with an almost constant row of benches running up the hill. If there is one thing windsor council doesn't want and thats for you not to be able to take a wee rest as required!! to the right lays a number of shops that i would describe as being more "highbrow" and not for those of us hard of wallet. the likes of links of london, ghost and specialist shops abound and make for an excellent browse. Just give your purse to your companion or iy could be dangerous!!!

Over all i spent a very happy day and would highly recommend a vist to families, couples, singletons (there is no shortage of wealthy city type eye candy of both sexes strolling around ;o) ) there is plenty to stroll around to look at for a relaxing day. BUT if you are more of a dooer rather than a stroller and a looker then leave windsor for a day when that is what you fancy doing

Summary: Highly recommended