Windsor is for walking (and biking)...

Friday, August 23rd:  While our trip to Windsor was intended for relaxation just before going home, we are instead walking.  The weather is fine and the temperature is perfect for walking.

We arrived at Heathrow Airport from Marseille on Wednesday, by flying over London.  I was able to get a few photos as we descended.

The City of London, with the quirky-shaped high rises.

Battersea Power Station (which we visited during our first week of the holiday).

Kew Gardens.

 Parliament Building and Westminster area (on the left) and the London Eye (on the right).

The SST just before we touched down.

We took two buses from Heathrow to our hotel, the Sir Christopher Wren.  The first bus took us from Terminal 2 to the city of Slough, which is north of Windsor.  We caught a second bus that took us to Windsor, within a block of our hotel.  We opted for this slow travel since we were early for check-in at the hotel.  We unpacked in a nice spacious room and immediately went for a walk -- we did most of the "Queen's Walkway," a path commemorating Queen Elizabeth's 63 year reign.  The path is 6.3 kilometers long to match the Queen's reign.  We stopped for dinner at a vegetarian Indian restaurant.

Evening from the Windsor & Eton Bridge, which is next to our hotel.  The bridge is pedestrian only and the quickest route to Eton College.

On Thursday, we completed two walks, the first one was a guided walk around Eton and then Windsor (4 miles) from our book on the Thames Path.

Lots of swans hang out by the bridge and riverside -- tourists can buy "swan food" to feed them -- much healthier than bread.

The Windsor & Eton Bridge over the Thames River.

Flood marker.

Eton College, closed to the public.  The next term starts around September 4th.  This "public school" is for boys, ages 13 to 18.

A rather gross downspout.

Eton's Library.

An original brick viaduct for trains, one of the longest in England.

A typical alley.

On our second walk of the day, up and down both sides of the river.  This is a railroad bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was one of the first in the country (1840s).

Rehydration stop at The Waterman's Arms in Eton.

Sir Christopher Wren Hotel,  Savora property

Today, we walked nearly 15 miles, under mostly sunny skies, from Windsor to Runnymede along the Thames Path, and then uphill and inland to Savill Gardens, finally back down to Windsor through the Great Park.  We discovered the Thames Path when we were here in 2016 and found it made for great exercise and exploring.  Legs of the path can be found on both sides of the river, which makes loop walks possible.  

Typical signage (or 'finger posts')

Romney Locks, the first of several that we passed today.

At mile 6, we arrived at Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.

Runnymede is large plain, with a few sculptures and memorials.  This is a new one - three woven reed statues of women launching birds (symbolizing freedom, perhaps).

The second memorial called the Jury, 12 chairs with pictograms on the front and back of each chair marking key historic events or concepts linked to human rights.

One of the chair fronts with a high tech message.

A gate to the path uphill to the John F. Kennedy memorial and the "one acre" of land given to the US in honor of JFK.

The JFK Memorial.

The Magna Carta Memorial.

This memorial reminds us that human rights must be carefully protected since they can easily be taken away by tyrants and dictators.  The men who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta had the influence of the purse strings - they would stop providing him with funds for his wars if he didn't accept the new charter.

The image, a quote from the Magna Carta, reflected in the water, is readable.

The Writ in Water Memorial is a large circular room inside a larger circular enclosure with an open circular roof, with a pool of water around which the quote can be read.

The entrance to Writ in Water.

Uphill from Runnymede is an Air Forces Memorial to British Empire airmen and women lost in WWII.  

The Air Forces Memorial entrance.

The names of the airmen and women whose bodies were never recovered, some 20,000, are engraved on the marble walls (to the right in this photo).

Our next stop at mile 9, was Savill Gardens.  We toured around the garden where summer flowers were in full bloom.  These are dahlias.

Peruvian Lilies.

Some kind of daisy.

Dahlia.

Gunnera or Peruvian rhubarb (very nasty prickles on the underside of the enormous leaves).

The last leg of our walk, looking down the Great Walk at Windsor Castle.  The castle is not housing the Royal Family at present - King Charles is in London, at Clarence House.  Buckingham Palace, according to official sources, is undergoing a 10-year renovation.

We rested up and cleaned up, then went over to Eton and the George Hotel for fish and chips.