The Thames cuts between Eton and Windsor. Purists, keeping to the Path, will therefore not see the best of either town. There are two ways to solve this problem: one is to spend some quality time in Windsor, perhaps by staying the night there; the other is to follow this suggested detour.
The Thames Path approaches Eton & Windsor on the Eton side. After crossing the footbridge, it carries on along the Windsor side, past the lock and into the Home Park in the shadows of the castle. After crossing the bridge and turning left along the river, you can, instead, walk up the high street. Passing the shops, restaurants and pubs you will soon see the Castle entrance on your left. Even if you decide not to go in, it’s worth a stop.
Staying on the High Street and just past the castle is the Guildhall. This is where Charles and Camilla were married. As were Elton John and David Furnish, one of the first same-sex weddings to take place. Elton John lives further downstream in Old Windsor. The Guildhall, which houses the Windsor and Royal Borough Museum, is separated from the delightful cobbled Market Street by the shortest street in England, Queen Charlotte Street, just 25 metres long. Queen Charlotte was the husband of George III. More of him later. A better way to get to Market Street is to enter the Carpenter’s Arms and exit the other side – preferably having consumed a pie and a pint along the way!
A little further along, the High Street turns sharp right and becomes Sheet Street, a road that leads to the barracks where the Coldstream Guards provide the troops to defend the castle. Every morning at 10am, they parade up Sheet Street to the castle to relieve the previous guard. It’s certainly a sight worth seeing. If, instead of turning into Sheet Street, you carry on, you will enter Park Street, in our opinion the loveliest street in Windsor. Unfortunately lots of other people think so too which is why these town houses mostly have Bentleys standing outside them. At the end of Park Street is a pleasant pub, the Two Brewers, and, just beyond, the Long Walk.
The Long Walk is a 3 mile dead straight road through parkland that starts at the private entrance to Windsor Castle and ends at the copper statue of George III on horseback. The walk is set entirely within the grounds of Windsor Great Park which is owned by the Crown. It runs southwards, parallel to the meandering Thames which is now to the east (on your left). Although the road is closed to traffic, it is used by park rangers as well as members of the Royal Household. Don’t be surprised if you see royalty. If not royalty, you will certainly see deer. Remember to keep your dogs on a lead!
The path is flat all the way until just before the end, when it rises steeply – by Thames Path standards anyway! – to the statue where there is a good view of Windsor Castle. George III was king of Great Britain from 1760 and then of the United Kingdom from 1801 when the Act of Union brought Britain and Ireland together. He died in 1820, reigning for an astonishing 60 years. He saw through the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars. Shortly before the statue, a tarmac track leads to your left which will take you to the edge of the park at Bishopsgate and past a welcome pub, the Fox and Hounds.
If you follow Crimp Hill to your left and Ridgemead Road to your right (both quiet lanes) you will find yourself on Cooper’s Hill, 200 metres above the Thames, although visibility is impeded by the dense woods around. The best way down is by a track that leads off the A328, or Priests Hill to give it its local name. Before heading down the hill, however, a decision is required: just under half a mile away is the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial, a fine structure also with good views. It’s a round-trip detour of about a mile by the time you climb the stairs to the top. You don’t have to return to Priest Hill as you can drop down Cooper’s Hill Lane, a rough stony track that also happens to be National Cycle Route 4 (marked in purple on the map below). But if you do take this path, you will rejoin the Thames downstream of the other Runnymede memorials.
Back at Priest Hill, the track (marked in black) takes you conveniently down the hill, right past the JFK Memorial at Runnymede. If you hear a lot of dogs barking, don’t be alarmed. Battersea Dogs Home have a centre here. The track ends at the fields of Runnymede. A few yards to your right is the Magna Carta Memorial, from where you can walk across the field, over the road and back to the river and the Thames Path.
The distance from the bridge at Windsor and Eton to where you rejoin the Thames Path is 5.4 miles. Going via the Thames Path is 5.2 miles. So there’s virtually no impact on distance, unless you opt for the Air Force Memorial detour. But it makes a wonderful change allowing you to see the best of Windsor, a glorious parkland walk with views, and past the Runnymede memorials which you would otherwise have to detour to. If that hasn’t convinced you perhaps we should mention that the Thames Path involves 1/2 mile of road walking through Datchet.
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