Going Local | Wonderful Windsor & The Great Park

Just like Anne of Green Gables once said ‘I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers’. I mean, how could you not love October? The clear bright days, the multi-coloured turned leaves which crunch under your feet, shiny conkers, not to mention dressing up in cosy layers and resurrecting thick snugly woollen scarves from the bottom of the drawers …

I for one am certainly never bored of the beautiful autumnal vistas, and in search of yet more autumn colour and crispy, crunchy leaves, I persuaded my boyfriend to join me on a trip to Windsor Great Park. Despite living so close and having visited Windsor plenty of times, I had not yet made it into the vast Park lying to the south of the castle. As they always say, there is a first time for everything!

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The park is over two thousand hectares in size and includes a deer park, as well as the prestigious Guards Polo Club. Previously Windsor Great Park was once part of an extensive Norman forest and acted as the private hunting grounds for the residents of Windsor Castle. The park is made up of a variety of landscapes; from formal avenues and gardens, to woodland and open grassland.

We made for the southern end of the estate near to Virginia Water, where we parked up the car and set off to explore the grounds. We skirted along the side of the lake, heading towards the Totem Pole and Valley Gardens on the water’s northern shore.

The towering 100 foot high Totem Pole was gifted to the Queen from the government of British Columbia in June 1958 to commemorate the centenary of the proclamation of British Columbia as a Crown Colony. The Totem is carved from one single cedar tree and showcases a number of characters, from the ‘Cedar Man’ at the bottom to ‘Thunderbird’ and ‘Man With A Large Hat’ at the top, hardly visible from the base of the pole.

Leaving the Totem Pole behind us we continued further into the estate, up the colourful Canadian avenue, planted with traditional trees and shrubs from the area. It really was wonderful to see so many trees showing off their magnificent autumn leaves and, for a good ten minutes or so, I was transported  to Canada – or at least as I imagine it to be as I have yet to visit.

We made our way through shaded woodland, passed blazing red shrubs and stopped to take plenty of snaps – and found some time for some autumn jollity twirling around in the leaves (I may be 23 but I’m still a child at heart).

After heading slightly off the main path we stumbled across an area which looked like it had been plucked straight out of a fairytale. I half expected to spot Snow White in the distance with the seven dwarves trailing behind her. No such luck though; unfortunately!

Eventually, as the clouds greyed and the skies began to look ominous we decided to make our way back to the car and then onwards into Windsor. I must say, however, that the Great Park is certainly somewhere where you could spend a whole day – it’s even equipped with on-site toilets and an eatery!

Back in Windsor we felt it was time to treat ourselves after all our morning’s exercise – taking photos can be such hard work you know! And with the Queen in such proximity it felt only right to regally indulge ourselves with a scone (or two) and lashings of clotted cream and jam!

The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering through the town, peaking into various shops and lusting after many of the new autumn fashion pieces. It’s fair to say I have a penchant for woolly knits!

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I hope you enjoyed my post on my outing to Windsor Great Park and are enjoying the Going Local Series. Do let me know in the comments below!