Windsor

Last weekend I was catsitting in Oxfordshire again, and so I decided to use my proximity to a train station to take a day trip to Windsor. I was particularly interested in visiting this town because of its famous castle - I've mentioned here several times that I love castles and palaces.

Another thing I've mentioned here several times is that I completely disagree with monarchy; it is an undemocratic and classist institution, and I feel embarrassed that people in my country still treat the Windsor family like gods, whereas people in other countries have fought revolutions in order to abolish this outdated system and achieve equality.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth Windsor (the unelected head of state of this country) still lives in Windsor Castle, so I made the decision before visiting the town that I would not be paying any admission fee, as I did not want to give money to this already very over-privileged woman and her spoilt relatives. I had hoped that I would be able to explore the castle from the outside for free. After all, it is the public taxes that pay for the upkeep of this building, so the public should have complete access to it.

However, I ended up disappointed - I was told by a security guard that the only way we "plebs" can fully explore the castle from the outside is by paying nearly £25 for a ticket! How greedy and selfish of the Windsors to expect working people to pay them such a ridiculous amount, when they already receive a great chunk of our taxes, which should instead be going towards our stretched public services. Obviously, I did not buy a ticket and therefore could not enter the grounds of this national landmark.

But apart from this, I still enjoyed my day in Windsor. The castle is an impressive building, and I managed to find some decent views of it from various spots around the town.

The rest of the town is also very attractive, and I spent a nice morning walking around it.

One of the town's most interesting buildings is the Crooked House of Windsor, which looks like it's about to topple over.

And although I disagree with monarchy, I must admit I appreciated the name of this pub - the Queen Charlotte!

I had lunch in a nice shopping centre next to the train station, where I saw an old steam train and a Cuban shop! The shop caught my attention, partly because Windsor seems like an odd location for a Cuban shop, and also because Cuba is a country that intrigues me a lot, and that I'd love to go to in the future.

After lunch I went for a walk alongside the River Thames, where I found a life-size model of a Hawker Hurricane plane!

The riverside was a very picturesque place to walk, with lots of cute ducks, geese and swans happily swimming and walking around.

I walked along the river until I reached a bridge connecting Windsor to the town of Eton, known for its private school, which produces a disproportionate amount of useless prime ministers. But the town itself is quite pretty and has great views of Windsor from its bridge and its Riverside Piazza.

 

Overall, I had a good time in Windsor and would recommend it as a place to visit. But I think it's a shame that castles like Windsor Castle still do not belong to the people of this country. We should look to France as an example; its population and size are similar to Britain's, and yet it brings in far more money through tourism (which just goes to show that the old argument that the Windsors "attract tourists" is totally wrong). In addition, France has an array of beautiful châteaux and palaces to explore, as well as plenty of tradition and culture, whilst being a republican nation! Who'd have thought?

Well, perhaps I'm in the minority for now, but I'm hopeful that some day in my lifetime, places like these will belong to all of us...

More Local Travel Adventures

I'm writing this post to sum up some of the other local places that Claudio and I visited during the three months that he was staying with us. It wasn't always possible to travel far due to the Covid situation, but we had a really nice time exploring different parts of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Here are some highlights!

The Thai Emerald, Cirencester

This Thai restaurant is a great place to visit, not just for its delicious food but also for its amazing decor - everything down to the teapots is so beautiful and ornate. Going there feels like visiting Thailand whilst still being in England!

Cirencester Park and Cirencester Castle

We had another experience of Asia in Cirencester when we went to Cirencester Park to see a special outdoor exhibition. Four life-size sculptures of Asian elephants had been placed in the park back in October as part of the CoExistence campaign, which raises awareness of human impact on wildlife.

In addition to seeing the sculptures, we also enjoyed walking around the park and seeing the castle again.

Jennie's Kitchen, Ashton Keynes

One local place where I especially wanted to take Claudio was Jennie's Kitchen café in the Cotswold Water Park. It's definitely the most "Chilean" place near where we live, because of its field of alpacas right by the car park! Although my favourite of the alpacas is now living in a different field, it was still really nice to see some of the others come right up close to the gate. One of them really took a liking to Claudio!

Neigh Bridge Lake

We had a lovely walk one day round this beautiful lake in the Cotswold Water Park. It was really interesting to see how different the place looked since I'd last gone there in August. Last time the River Thames, which runs next to the lake, was completely dry, but this time it was full and flowing rapidly.

Lydiard Park

Another place where we went for a walk was Lydiard Park, near Swindon. We'd just recently visited Dyrham Park so it seemed a little unspectacular in comparison, but it's still a very attractive place to explore, with its manor house, lake and woodland. We saw plenty of ducks, swans and dogs there, as well as a very low-flying military plane!

Cirencester Amphitheatre and Querns Wood

After having previously visited the Roman Baths in Bath and the Roman Wall in Cirencester, we discovered some more of Britain's Roman history at the Cirencester Amphitheatre, which was once a huge gladiatorial arena. It was a very rainy but fun day out! While we were there, we also visited the nearby Querns Wood, a very pretty and peaceful woodland area.

Cotswold Airport

One foggy day, we went on an outing to Cotswold Airport, a private airport which is known as an "aeroplane graveyard", as many old commercial planes are moved there once they're no longer being used by airlines. Unfortunately, at the moment the main entrance isn't open, so we could only drive past the airfield. However, last summer several Boeing 747 jets had arrived there, and we were able to see them right next to the road, which was amazing.

In normal circumstances, you can actually walk around the airfield and also visit a café on site, so it's a great place for a trip out.

Upper Waterhay Meadow

A somewhat disappointing place we visited was the Upper Waterhay Meadow nature reserve in the Cotswold Water Park. It's right next to Cleveland Lakes Nature Reserve so I was expecting it to be a similarly scenic place. However, it was just a series of wet, muddy fields with only one very small lake. Definitely not somewhere I'm in a hurry to go back to! But on a more positive note, there's a bridge with nice views over the River Thames right next to the car park.

Another walk in Malmesbury

My parents needed to go into Malmesbury one day, and Claudio and I came along to go for another walk around the town. We had already seen the main sights the first time we were there, so this time we explored some of the quieter little streets.

Ashton Keynes

Just before Christmas, my parents needed to go to the Ashton Keynes post office, so Claudio and I took the opportunity to have a walk around. It's a very pretty, old-fashioned village on the river, which has a statue called Old Father Thames. As you can see, he was dressed up for Christmas and had a reindeer friend with him!

Windsor Castle

Okay, so this isn't really a local travel adventure, but a place we saw from the road when we were driving to Heathrow Airport. It's such a big castle and looks so impressive, even from a distance, and it was very nice to unexpectedly see one more sight together before Claudio had to go home. It's now on the list of places to go to when he's next in England!

Overall, Claudio and I had an amazing three months together, and were lucky to have the chance to explore three different countries during that time: England, Wales and Sweden. By the next time we're in Europe together, hopefully travelling will be a lot easier, and we'll finally be able to go to France, Italy and maybe some more countries!

But the most important thing was that we got to be together again after seven months without seeing each other because of the pandemic. It's difficult to be apart now, but it shouldn't be for so long this time, as I'll be starting my job in Santiago in the coming months, if everything goes to plan. So that's something that's keeping me positive through this winter and this third lockdown. I'm really looking forward to being back in Chile and seeing Claudio again!