Castles · Tour

Windsor Castle and Oxford in a Small Group, Castle Entry Included

Two places rather than three, which is what makes the difference here: no Stonehenge, and the time that would have gone on the drive to Salisbury Plain stays in Windsor and Oxford instead. Entry to Windsor Castle is in the price, and the group is a small one in a luxury vehicle. Windsor Castle rises over the Thames-side town below it. The Royal Family has held it for over 900 years and it remains an official residence of the King. The State Apartments hold priceless work by Rubens and Van Dyck under painted ceilings. St George's Chapel is a Gothic building where 11 monarchs are buried, Queen Elizabeth II, Henry VIII and Charles I among them, and where many royal weddings have taken place. It is closed on Sundays. There is also a guided walk through the streets of the old town, which most Windsor day trips skip entirely. Oxford takes the second half. The university has a thousand years of building behind it, and the walk goes along the cobbled streets past the colleges, the cafés and the courtyards you would not find alone. The guide has the stories of the scholars, the monarchs and the writers, J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen Hawking among them. Check in at the Evan Evans welcome desk 30 minutes before departure. The day ends at Victoria Train Station.