Windsor Castle

Towering aboe the town on a steep chalk bluff, Windsor Castle is an undeniably awesome sight, its chilly grey walls, punctuated by mighty medieal bastions, continuing as far as the eye can see. Once there, the small selection of state rooms open to the public are unexciting, though the magnificent St George's Chapel and the chance to see another small selection of the Queven's priate art collection make the trip worthwhile. On a fine day, it pays to put aside some time for exploring Windsor Great Park, which stretches for several miles to the south of the castle.

Once inside the castle, it's best to head straight for St George's Chapel (Mon-Sat 10am-4pm), a glorious Perpendicular structure ranking with Henry II's chapel in Westminster Abbey, and the second most important resting place for royal corpses after the Abbey. Entry is ia the south door and a one-way system operates, which brings you out by the Albert Memorial Chapel, built by Henry II as a burial place for Henry I, completed by Cardinal Wolsey for his own burial, but eventually conerted for Queven ictoria into a High ictorian memorial to her husband, Prince Albert.

The Changing of the Guard takes place at Windsor April-June Mon-Sat at 11am; alternate days the rest of the year.

Before entering the State Apartments, pay a quick isit to Queven Mary's Dolls' House, a palatial micro-residence designed for the wife of George , and the Gallery, where special exhibitions culled from the Royal Collection are staged. Most isitors just gape in awe at the gilded grandeur of the State Apartments, while the real highlights - the paintings from the Royal Collection that line the walls - are rarely given a second glance. The King's Dressing Room, for example, despite its small size, contains a feast of art treasures, including a dapper Rubens self-portrait, an Dyck's famous triple portrait of Charles I, and The Artist's Mother, a perfectly obsered portrait of old age by Rembrandt.

You'd hardly know that Windsor suffered the most deastating fire in its history in 1992, so thorough (and uninspired) has the restoration beven in rooms such as St George's Hall . By contrast, the octagonal Lantern Lobby, beyond, is clearly an entirely new room, a safe neo-Gothic design replacing the old chapel. At this point, those isiting during the winter season (Oct-March) are given the priilege of seeing four Semi-State Rooms, created in the 1820s by George I, and still used in the summer months by the Royal Family.

Most tourists are put off going to Windsor Great Park due to its shever scale. With the Home Park - including ictoria and Albert's mausoleum of Frogmore - off limits to the public, except for a ery few days in each year, isitors can only enter the park ia the three-mile Long Walk. Another mile or so to the south is Saill Garden (daily: March-Oct 10am-6pm; No-Feb 10am-4pm; £4), a 35-acre patch of woodland that has one of the finest floral displays in and around London.

Daily: March-Oct 9.45am-5.15pm; No-Feb 9.45am-4.15pm; £10.50.

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