Windsor is a small Berkshire town of about 32,000 people half an hour west of London, and it exists because of the castle on the hill above it. WINDSOR CASTLE IS THE OLDEST AND LARGEST OCCUPIED CASTLE IN THE WORLD, begun by William the Conqueror around 1070 and continuously inhabited for nearly a thousand years, and it is a working royal residence rather than a museum of one.
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THAT LAST POINT IS THE MOST PRACTICAL THING IN THIS POST AND IT IS WHERE WINDSOR VISITS GO WRONG. Because the castle is in use, PARTS OF IT CLOSE WITHOUT MUCH NOTICE: the State Apartments shut for official functions, the whole castle can close for a state visit or a ceremonial occasion, and ST GEORGE'S CHAPEL IS CLOSED TO VISITORS ON SUNDAYS because it is a working chapel holding services. CHECK THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST'S OPENING INFORMATION ON THE DAY, not the week before, and do not build a trip around the chapel on a Sunday. Our UK travel guide for women covers the country.
THE SECOND THING IS WHAT IS ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR TIME INSIDE. ST GEORGE'S CHAPEL is the best of it: a Perpendicular Gothic chapel of the late fifteenth century, the home of the Order of the Garter, and the burial place of ten sovereigns including HENRY VIII, CHARLES I, ELIZABETH II AND THE QUEEN MOTHER. THE STATE APARTMENTS are vast and hung with a serious art collection, the Royal Collection being one of the largest private collections in the world. And QUEEN MARY'S DOLLS' HOUSE is a 1924 miniature house at one inch to the foot with working lifts and running water and a library of tiny books written by real authors, which sounds like a curiosity and is one of the most extraordinary objects in Britain.
THE THIRD IS THE LONG WALK, which is free and which most visitors never do. It is a straight avenue running 2.65 miles south from the castle gates through WINDSOR GREAT PARK to an equestrian statue of George III known as the COPPER HORSE, and the view back along it to the castle is the best view of the building there is. It takes about an hour each way on the flat.
AND THE FOURTH IS THAT WINDSOR THE TOWN IS SMALL AND HEAVILY GIVEN OVER TO VISITORS. There are two railway stations, a lot of chain restaurants, and a short riverside. ETON IS ACROSS THE BRIDGE, a five-minute walk, a single long street of Georgian shopfronts and the enormous presence of ETON COLLEGE, founded in 1440. The college does run visitor tours, but access is limited and seasonal and must be checked and booked in advance rather than assumed.
The Castle, the Chapel and the Great Park
A thousand-year fortress in use, the Garter chapel, a doll's house, and a 2.65-mile avenue.
THE CASTLE needs three to four hours and tickets should be booked in advance for a timed entry. The route takes you up through the gates into the Lower Ward for the chapel, then around to the State Apartments. THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD happens on certain mornings outside the castle and in the town, and the schedule varies by season and weather, so check it rather than planning around it.
THE SEMI-STATE ROOMS, George IV's private apartments and some of the most lavishly decorated rooms in Britain, are OPEN IN WINTER ONLY, roughly October to March. That is a genuine reason to visit out of season and it is the opposite of how most attractions work.
THE ROUND TOWER, the keep on its motte, dominates every view and is not generally open; what you walk is the ward below it. THE NORTH TERRACE gives a long view over the Thames valley to Eton and the playing fields.
WINDSOR GREAT PARK is 4,800 acres of former royal hunting forest south of the town, open and free, with the Long Walk running through it. THE SAVILL GARDEN, a ticketed ornamental garden, and VIRGINIA WATER, a large artificial lake with a ruined folly of genuine Roman columns from Leptis Magna, are both in the park and both are an easy half day. The park holds ancient oaks, some of them a thousand years old, and a deer herd.
ETON, over the bridge, is worth the walk for the high street and the sense of the place. THE COLLEGE'S chapel and some buildings can be seen on arranged tours; check availability well in advance.
AND LEGOLAND WINDSOR is two miles out, which is relevant mainly as a warning: in school holidays it fills the town's hotels and the roads, and it has nothing to do with the castle.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Getting There and Getting Around
Half an hour from London, and much closer to Heathrow than to anywhere else.
THERE ARE TWO STATIONS, both a few minutes' walk from the castle. WINDSOR AND ETON CENTRAL takes a shuttle from Slough, connecting to fast trains from London Paddington, which is the quickest route at around thirty five minutes in total. WINDSOR AND ETON RIVERSIDE runs direct from London Waterloo in about an hour. Either is simple and neither needs a car.
HEATHROW IS FIFTEEN MINUTES AWAY BY ROAD, which is the detail worth planning around: Windsor is a far more pleasant first or last night of a UK trip than an airport hotel, and the castle fills a morning before a mid-afternoon flight. Note that you will hear aircraft.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO WINDSOR. Parking is limited and expensive and the centre is congested, particularly on Legoland days.
THE TOWN IS SMALL AND COMPLETELY WALKABLE, and so is Eton. For the Great Park, the Long Walk starts at the castle end of the town; the Savill Garden and Virginia Water are better reached by car or bus.
NEARBY: London half an hour, Oxford about an hour, the Cotswolds an hour and a half, and Stonehenge about an hour and three quarters west, which is a pairing coach tours make and which is a long day done as a return trip from here.
When to Go
April to October for the park, and winter for the rooms nobody else sees.
Windsor runs 2 to 8C in January and February and 13 to 23C in July and August, with rain spread through the year. This is one of the drier and milder parts of Britain, which is a modest distinction.
APRIL TO OCTOBER is the obvious season and the Great Park is at its best in it, with the Long Walk under leaf and the gardens working. JUNE IS BUSY and includes two fixed disruptions worth knowing about: the GARTER SERVICE, usually in June, when the castle closes to visitors for the procession, and ROYAL ASCOT, five miles away, which fills every hotel in the area and raises every price.
WINTER IS A GENUINE ARGUMENT HERE AND IT IS UNUSUAL. THE SEMI-STATE ROOMS ARE OPEN OCTOBER TO MARCH ONLY, the castle is far quieter, and the town is pleasant under lights. The trade-off is short days, a cold and exposed castle ward and a Long Walk in the mud.
THE SINGLE BEST TIMING ADVICE is to arrive at opening. Windsor takes an enormous volume of coach day trips from London, which arrive from mid-morning; the first hour in the castle is a different experience from the third.
AND CHECK THE CALENDAR BEFORE BOOKING ANYTHING. Between state visits, the Garter service, Ascot, Changing of the Guard schedules, Sunday chapel closures and the winter-only rooms, Windsor has more date-dependent variation than any other destination in this batch.
Is Windsor Safe for Women Travelers
Extremely. This is one of the lowest-risk destinations in this library.
US State Department travel advisory: the United Kingdom advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: there is none, and this is not an omission. The FCDO advises British nationals on travel abroad, so it publishes nothing for the United Kingdom itself and both gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-kingdom and /uk return 404. In its place, the Government of Canada advice for the United Kingdom gives an equivalent third-country assessment.
The United Kingdom publishes its own national terrorism threat level, and Northern Ireland carries a separate one. That is unusual and it is more useful than a generic warning, because it is current and official rather than a guess. The threat level is published on gov.uk and is worth reading there rather than relying on any figure printed in a guide, including this one, since the level changes and a printed figure ages badly. The practical advice attached to it never changes: stay aware in crowded places, note where the exits are, and follow instructions from police and staff without waiting to see what everyone else does.
WINDSOR IS A SMALL, PROSPEROUS, HEAVILY POLICED TOWN containing a working royal residence, which means a permanent and visible security presence of a kind no ordinary English town has. Crime against visitors is very low. The realistic risks are pickpocketing in a dense coach-tour crowd outside the castle gates and in the station shopping centre, and ordinary care covers them.
SECURITY SCREENING AT THE CASTLE IS AIRPORT-LIKE and is the practical thing to prepare for rather than worry about: bag searches, restrictions on what you can bring in, and limited cloakroom capacity. LARGE BAGS AND SUITCASES ARE NOT ADMITTED, which matters because Windsor is often done between a flight and a hotel. Check the current list before you pack a day bag, and travel light to the castle.
THE CASTLE GROUND IS THE MAIN PHYSICAL HAZARD and it is the usual heritage one: a steep cobbled approach from the town, worn stone and uneven setts in the wards, spiral stairs, and the chapel's medieval floor. It is slippery in rain. THE CASTLE IS ALSO ON A HILL and the climb from the Riverside station end is steeper than it looks.
THE LONG WALK AND THE GREAT PARK bring ordinary countryside cautions. It is 2.65 miles each way with NO FACILITIES, no shelter and no water along it, so five and a half miles round trip on an exposed avenue. THERE IS A FREE-ROAMING DEER HERD in the park, and deer should be given a wide berth, particularly in the autumn rut when stags are aggressive and during May and June when hinds have calves. Dogs must be under control. The park closes at dusk and the Long Walk is unlit.
THE THAMES runs through the town and is fast, cold and deeper than it looks, with weirs nearby. It is not a swimming river and the riverside path is unfenced in places.
Emergency treatment in an NHS accident and emergency department is free to everyone regardless of nationality or insurance. Beyond that, overseas visitors can be charged for NHS hospital care, so travel insurance still matters, and a UK GHIC or EU EHIC covers medically necessary state care for eligible visitors. Prescriptions are charged in England and free in Scotland and Wales. Pharmacies can advise on minor problems without an appointment, and NHS 111 is the free triage line for anything you are unsure about.
Socially there is nothing to navigate. No dress expectations, though ST GEORGE'S CHAPEL IS A WORKING PLACE OF WORSHIP and the ordinary courtesy applies, with photography not permitted inside it. A woman visiting alone is entirely unremarkable in a town where a large share of visitors are solo day-trippers.
The Windsor Packing List
A small bag, which is the first item for a reason specific to Windsor
CASTLE SECURITY DOES NOT ADMIT LARGE BAGS OR SUITCASES and cloakroom space is limited, which catches out everyone doing Windsor between Heathrow and a hotel. A small day bag that will pass a search is the right answer, and packing cubes are genuinely useful here because they make it easy to pull a day's things out of a case and leave the case at the station or hotel.
A rain shell
A packable rain jacket for women. Rain is spread through the British year, the castle wards are open ground, and the Long Walk has no shelter for 2.65 miles in either direction.
Shoes for cobbles, a hill and five miles of avenue
Walking shoes with grip and no heel. The approach to the castle is steep cobble, the wards are worn setts, the chapel floor is medieval stone, and all of it is slippery wet. If you do the Long Walk, that is five and a half miles on gravel and grass on top.
Proper socks
Merino hiking socks, which earn their place if the Great Park is on your list and are a comfort item if it is not.
A warm layer, because the castle is outdoors more than you expect
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the right call because a castle visit is substantially spent in OPEN WARDS, on the North Terrace and queueing outside, all of it exposed on a hill above the Thames valley. The Long Walk is a wind tunnel on a straight axis. And St George's Chapel, like most medieval stone buildings, is colder inside than out in summer and barely warmer in winter.
A beanie from November to March
A merino beanie, for the wards and the avenue. Winter is the season the Semi-State Rooms are open, so it is a season worth coming in.
Water, which is free and drinkable
An insulated water bottle. UK tap water is safe everywhere. There is nothing at all along the Long Walk, which is the stretch where it matters.
The small things
A BOOKED TIMED TICKET and, more importantly, A CHECK OF THE CASTLE'S OPENING ON THE DAY, because this is a working residence and parts close at short notice. No photography inside St George's Chapel. A UK three-pin adapter for 230V type G. A contactless card. And earplugs or an eye mask if you are staying over, because Heathrow is fifteen minutes away and you will hear it.
Essential Resources for Women in Windsor
Emergency numbers: 999 is the UK emergency number for police, ambulance and fire, and 112 also works from any phone. 101 IS THE NON-EMERGENCY POLICE NUMBER and 111 IS THE NHS NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL LINE, which will assess you and direct you to the right service.
Police and support: the UK has no separate tourist police; 999 and 101 are the numbers and both answer in English with interpretation available. Windsor has a visible police presence because of the castle. THE RAPE CRISIS NATIONAL LINE on 0808 500 2222 is free and confidential, and ASK FOR ANGELA operates in participating licensed venues, where saying that phrase to staff gets you discreet help.
Main hospital or clinic: WINDSOR HAS NO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. King Edward VII Hospital in Windsor provides urgent care and outpatient services, and the nearest 24 hour emergency departments are WEXHAM PARK HOSPITAL IN SLOUGH, about twenty minutes away, and Frimley Park. 111 will direct you correctly and will send an ambulance if that is what is needed. A pharmacy, which the British call a chemist, handles minor problems without an appointment. Emergency NHS treatment is provided regardless of nationality, but non-residents can be charged for ongoing care, so travel insurance remains necessary.
Official health authority: the NHS. Emergency NHS treatment is provided to anyone regardless of nationality, but non-residents may be charged for ongoing hospital care, so travel insurance is still needed. NOTE THAT WINDSOR HAS NO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: King Edward VII offers urgent care and the nearest full emergency departments are Wexham Park in Slough about twenty minutes away and Frimley Park. 111 directs you to the right service
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in London.
Official tourism authority: VisitBritain. And the Royal Collection Trust, which runs the castle and is where timed tickets and same-day closure information live, plus the Royal Windsor visitor service for the town and the Great Park
This is a working royal residence and parts close at short notice. St George's Chapel is closed to visitors on Sundays, and the whole castle can close for a state occasion. Check on the day, not the week before.
The Semi-State Rooms are open in winter only, roughly October to March. That is a real reason to come out of season, which is the opposite of how most attractions work.
Castle security does not admit large bags or suitcases. This catches out everyone doing Windsor between Heathrow and a hotel.
Solo women safety assessment: Windsor is one of the lowest-risk destinations in this library. It is a small, prosperous town built around a working royal residence, which gives it a permanent and visible security presence no ordinary English town has, crime against visitors is very low, there are no dress expectations beyond ordinary courtesy in a working chapel, and a woman visiting alone is entirely unremarkable in a place where a large share of visitors are solo day-trippers. The FCDO publishes no advice for the United Kingdom because it advises on travel abroad, so the pair is the State Department's UK advisory plus the Government of Canada's as a substitute, with the UK's own terrorism threat level published live on gov.uk. The realistic crime risk is pickpocketing in the dense coach-tour crowd at the castle gates and in the station shopping centre, and ordinary care covers it. THE THINGS TO ACTUALLY PREPARE FOR ARE PRACTICAL RATHER THAN DANGEROUS. Castle security is airport-like and LARGE BAGS AND SUITCASES ARE NOT ADMITTED with limited cloakroom space, which matters because Windsor is often done between Heathrow and a hotel. The castle ground is the usual heritage hazard: a steep cobbled approach, worn uneven setts in the wards, spiral stairs and a medieval chapel floor, all slippery in rain, on a hill. The Long Walk is 2.65 miles each way with no facilities, shelter or water, unlit, and closing at dusk, with a FREE-ROAMING DEER HERD in the Great Park that should be given a wide berth in the autumn rut and when hinds have calves in May and June. The Thames through the town is fast, cold, deeper than it looks and has weirs nearby, and is not a swimming river. Windsor has NO emergency department; Wexham Park in Slough is about twenty minutes away. 999 or 112, 101 non-emergency police, 111 for medical advice, 0808 500 2222 Rape Crisis.
Reading On
Start with the UK travel guide for women. Half an hour east is the London packing list, and Windsor is a far better first or last night of a UK trip than an airport hotel. West and north are the Oxford packing list, the Cotswolds packing list and the Bath packing list, and the Stonehenge packing list covers the other great day trip in this direction, about an hour and three quarters away. On the south coast, the Brighton packing list and the Dover packing list. Further afield, the Liverpool packing list, the York packing list and the Edinburgh packing list. For why merino rather than cotton in an open castle ward above a river valley, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
