One of the attractions that visitors to London just cannot afford to miss is the Windsor Castle that is located at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. Its salient features are its architecture and its long association with the royal family of England and the fact that it is the longest occupied palace in Europe. It has lavish State Apartments and the 15th century St George’s Chapel which is considered to be "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic" design. The castle employs more than 500 people who live and work there. Travelling to the castle from Central London is quite straight forward that any visitor to the city can easily undertake. One of the easiest ways to travel is to take a train to Windsor but there are other alternatives as well that are also preferred by many people, depending on where they are staying in London. Being located close to Heathrow Airport, many local buses also ply between Heathrow and Windsor as well as Eton.
The various options of travelling to Windsor include taking a train from Paddington or a train from Waterloo, taking the Green Line Bus from Victoria and taking local buses from Heathrow.
London Paddington to Windsor Central by Train via Slough
The fastest way to go to Windsor is to take a train from London’s Paddington Station going up to Windsor Central Station. You can also take a train from London’s Waterloo Station going up to Windsor Riverside Station. If you travel by the Paddington train, you will need to change at Slough where you have to catch a branch line train to Windsor. Even then, this route is faster than taking the Waterloo train. However, the Waterloo train will be more convenient if you are staying close to Waterloo. The Waterloo train will take you to Windsor’s Riverside Station which is at the bottom of the hill, just 5 minutes’ walk away from Windsor Castle. However, the Paddington train will take you to Windsor Central. When you exit the station, you will find Windsor Castle right in front of you. Advance booking of train tickets from London to Windsor is not necessary. Moreover, there is no reserved seating and you can use your ticket for any train schedule. There is good frequency of the trains that run till late into the evening.
London Waterloo to Windsor Riverside Train
Visitors staying at London heathrow Hotels in County Hall or Charing Cross, Trafalgar Square may find it more convenient to travel to Windsor from London Waterloo Station as an alternate train service terminating at Windsor Riverside Station run by South West Trains is also available. Moreover, Waterloo Station is just a small walk from the hotels in this area. People staying near Clapham Junction rail station can join trains from this station that are coming from Victoria and Vauxhall and Richmond Underground Stations. Travelling by South West Trains will give them the benefit of buying a combined ticket that will prove to be economical as it includes the entry fee to Windsor Castle. Further savings can be achieved by travelling at off-peak times and family fares.
Windsor & Legoland Green Line Bus From London
There are many London Tour and Travel agencies that provide pertinent information regarding London walking tours to Windsor and also offer guided tours. Apart from the two train lines from London to Windsor, you can also opt for going by road on buses. This is a good option for people staying in hotels in the Victoria or Kensington High Street areas through which the buses pass.
Green Line Bus
Starting at London Victoria, the Green Line Bus gets out of London along the M4 motorway and passes Heathrow Airport, but it does not stop there. This service terminates well past Windsor with most of them ending their journey at Bracknell. The buses are most convenient as they stop right outside Windsor Castle. After this stop, the buses continue their journey and stop at Legoland Theme Park, which is just outside Windsor, providing the only direct transport to Legoland from Central London.
It is important to know that the terminus of the service is at the Green Line Bus Station and not at the Red Line bus station which is in front of the railway station. Just a five minutes’ walk from Buckingham Palace Road running along Victoria Rail Station, you can find the Green Line Coach Station. The fare pricing is based on the time of travel as peak time fares are higher. This works in favour of most visitors as they would be going out of London when most passengers would be coming in.
Local Buses Between Heathrow & Windsor via Runnymede
For people staying in the Heathrow area buses going directly to Windsor are available at Terminal 5 on the western side of Heathrow, which is the nearest terminal to Windsor.
There are many Heathrow hotels on the route of the buses going from Heathrow to Windsor and as such people having a stopover at Heathrow can see Windsor easily during this period. Guests staying at most of the Heathrow hotels can avail of a Hoppa Bus to terminal 5 that runs frequently throughout the day. Free public buses are available for people staying in hotels on the Bath Road.
Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport is the terminal of the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground as well as of the Heathrow Express train from Paddington Station.
While going by public buses, the 71 and 77 route buses stop outside Windsor Castle but they do not terminate there. It is important to note that London transport passes such as Oyster and Travelcard cannot be used to go to Windsor, The London Pass, however, offers a special addition to its Travelcard that enables you to use the train from London to Windsor.
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