Windsor Great Park Sunrise, a photo by Matt Peters Photography on Flickr.

Beautful photo of the Great Park.

Windsor Castle, a photo by davewilkins1979 on Flickr.

Great photo!

There is so much going on in Windsor this Winter here’s a list of the best events to add to your diaries.

Firstly the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair which is taking place at the Windsor Racecourse on 12^th and 13^th November.  Here you can expect to see a wonderful range of artwork including paintings, photography and sculpture from both well established artists and new talents.  Pieces start from just £40 so it’s the perfect place to kick start your Christmas shopping.

On Saturday 19^th November you can make your way to Windsor Town Centre to watch the switching on of the Christmas Lights.  The festivities start with a traditional handmade lantern procession followed by live music on the main stage in front of the Castle.  This year the lights are to be switched on by the stars of the Theatre Royal’s magnificent pantomime, Sleeping Beauty. The production of Sleeping Beauty runs from 7^th December until closing night on the 7^th January and stars Tony Christie and Brit Ekland.  Tickets are now on sale.

You can also take the children for a truly magical Christmas experience on the 3^rd of December when Santa will be visiting complete with sleigh and real-live Reindeer!  Enjoy the marching band while the children have their photo taken with Santa.

Finally, Alexander Gardens will once again be transformed into a Winter Wonderland this year with the arrival of the Christmas Ice Rink on 10^th  December until 2^nd January.  A gentle skate around this beautiful park is the perfect way to end a day of Christmas shopping in fabulous Windsor.

Whatever your plans, AWL wishes all of our customers a wonderful start to the Christmas season.  www.accommodationwindsor.com.

Stretch, a photo by Bob the Binman on Flickr.

Here’s another one for you – lovely shot of the swans by Bob the Binman!

Windsor Castle, a photo by VT_Professor on Flickr.

Beautiful shot of the Castle from an unusual angle!

If you visit Accommodation Windsor Limited here on Alma Road you will find everything you would expect in an office; desks, computers, a photocopier, paperwork… but there is also something (or someone) you probably wouldn’t expect – Ruby the Miniature Schnauzer.

Ruby is 3 years old and comes into the office everyday to play, sleep and greet our customers.  Since moving away from home I have been missing my own dog so it is lovely for me to have Ruby around each day.  She greets everyone with a wagging tail in the morning before snuggling up in her bed for a long morning snooze.  That is until someone opens a package that might be food, then she’s up in a flash to scout out potential treats!

When our customers arrive they are often surprised and delighted to be greeted by Ruby who, although shy at first, loves meeting new people and having a fuss made of her.

It is often late afternoon that Ruby really wakes up and starts investigating what’s going on in her office.  She likes to follow us to the kitchen and investigate the comings and goings at the front door.  This has earned her the respectable title Head of Security.  Having been entrusted with such an important role we thought it was only fair that Ruby featured on the Meet the Team page of our website along with the rest of us.  She is after all a very important member of the team here at Accommodation Windsor Limited!

Days out and weekends away can be expensive, especially with the kids in tow, so we thought we’d have a look at how much you can do in Windsor for FREE.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD & WINDSOR GUILDHALL

CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT WINDSOR

The Changing of the Guard is where the hustle and bustle is taking place late mornings (10.50 am). The parade which can include the Coldstream Guards, Grenadier Guards, Welsh Guards or occasionally the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment and accompanying band, is a real treat for visitors.  Lots of information on the guard change can be found on this website: Guard Change at Windsor

Our pick for best view is the Windsor Guildhall in the centre of town.  The site of many a famous wedding, including Prince Charles and Sir Elton John, the building has steps which will let you see over the crowds to get a good view.  While there, spend some time looking round the impressive building, first built in 1687 and completed by Sir Christopher Wren.  You will note that the four columns to the Guildhall do not touch the ceiling above – legend has it that Wren was told he needed to install supporting pillars but he did not agree – he had the last laugh by installing them but leaving a gap of a few inches above – so they do not support anything and are purely decorative!

THE LONG WALK TO THE COPPER HORSE

The 2.64 miles of stunning, Elm tree lined walk leads from the doorstep of the Castle to the top of Snow Hill, which has the most amazing views over Windsor. At the top of the hill is the copper statue of King George III on horseback.  The legend has it that King Henry VIII sat at the top of this hill waiting for news of the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

This is a fantastic walk and is popular with tourists and locals alike.  On the way back you can stop off for a glass of something cool at the wonderful Two Brewers pub located at the Castle gates on Park Street.

ROYAL WINDSOR (WINDOW) SHOPPING

 The Royal Windsor shopping area is largely covered and built on the site of the 100 year old railway station right in the centre of town.  It boasts an array of top retail brands and chic cafes for a great combination of shopping and relaxing.  You can plan what to buy after pay day!

FULL SIZED REPLICAS

Windsor is home to two exquisite full-sized replicas in and around the town. First is the steam locomotive, set in Windsor and Eton Central train station.  This is a full size replica of the steam engine that pulled the Royal Train of Queen Victoria between Windsor and London.

The other is the Hawker Hurricane, the legendary WWII Fighter plane – a memorial to Windsor resident Sir Sydney Camm. Both are impressive in their own right and are in great locations. The Hawker Hurricane is along Barry Avenue by the river near the mini golf at Alexandra Gardens.

VISIT ST JOHN’S CHURCH

St. Johns Parish Church is located in the centre of town just along the High Street from the Castle.  Built in a medieval style in 1822 this grand church contains the Royal Borough’s war memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Second World War and a spectacular painting of the Last Supper.  All are welcome to the parish church and it is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm.

The church has a great 360 image of the inside on their website here: Parish Church Windsor

FEED THE SWANS

Feeding the swans is an activity which can be enjoyed by people of all ages and there is certainly no lack of swans to feed at Windsor Bridge.  We strongly recommend that you purchase a bag of swan feed from the food stall located near the Bridge as opposed to feeding them bread.  This is because swans and ducks don’t get any nutritional value from bread as much as they might love it!  There is a safe area to feed the swans and this is usually a very popular spot for tourists with young children or for photo opportunities as the best place to feed them is by Windsor Bridge – a footbridge that takes you over to Eton.  This bridge was closed to vehicles back in 1970 due to cracks in the ironwork that were caused by constant heavy traffic.

It is possible to drive to Eton from Windsor – you just have to take the long way round!

EXPLORE WINDSOR GREAT PARK

This beautiful and vast open space provides the perfect setting for picnics, ball games, kite flying and cycling – you can bring your dog too.

ALEXANDRA GARDENS

Take a picnic along to Alexandra Gardens where you can relax in a beautiful setting with a perfect view of the castle, kick-back and enjoy the Windsor Wheel gently revolving in the summer season or watch the ice-skaters throughout the winter months.

QUEENS WALKWAY

The Queens Walkway is a sixty-four-stop walking tour in and around Windsor. The route is marked by Gunmetal Plaques with the Queen’s Seal on. The tour will take you around some of the spots we have on our list and a whole lot more and includes a guide with interesting information about each of the stops.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/241361_156d2f735e6f4bb4b23569f22f2df206.pdf

(credit to The Outdoor Trust, Commonwealth walkways)

ETON WALKWAY AND MUSEUMS

Like the Queens Walkway, the Eton Walkway is a walking tour around the historic town, home to one of England’s most famous and prestigious school.  This tour takes you through the town showing off the eclectic range of architecture, the remarkable individual pieces of the school

WALK ALONG THE WINDSOR TRAIL 

Enjoy an easy stroll along the River Thames Path in either direction from the Castle to see some wonderful countryside and historic locks and towns.  Walking from Windsor to Old Windsor offers wonderful views of the Castle and provides the opportunity to explore Datchet on the way.  Keep going past Old Windsor to Runnymede to see where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215.

WINDSOR CASTLE

Residents of Windsor can enjoy unlimited free entry to Windsor Castle with their Advantage Cards.  Non-residents who don’t want to pay to enter can still enjoy walking around the outside of the Castle where it meets the High Street with lots of lovely photo opportunities.

If you are feeling flush and would like to buy Windsor Castle Tickets please click on the link! Although not free Windsor Castle is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK.  We get a small commission from the sale of Windsor Castle tickets which helps us to maintain this and other free sites like Royal-Windsor.com where you can find suggestions on places to eat in Windsor and places to stay – from bed and breakfasts to Windsor Hotels.

Thanks for reading!

DIY seems to sit neatly alongside the manly pursuit of BBQing; “No help required thank you.  Just stand back and let me show you how it’s done.”

It is hard to ignore the manly instinct that tells us DIY is good and we can do it without professional help.  Maybe we just want tools, or perhaps it’s some kind of homo sapiens nest-building urge, but we do need to recognise our limits.

 I recently went to do a bit of work in a friend’s house, and it took a lot of persuasion from his wife to convince him to call me in to help.  He is very handy himself and could have easily managed the jobs I did for him… if he had the time.  A new job and a second baby doesn’t leave much time for DIY sadly, and although it was a slight dent to his pride to get me in, I know it was a great relief.

 I was in the same position myself recently, confronted with a large DIY job at home which I just didn’t have time to do.  It is funny how a small job can slowly gain momentum and snowball into a huge one.  The light bulb blew in our landing light and we decided that we’d change the light fitting – we had been thinking of doing this for some time, and the bulb blowing was just the catalyst required to push us into John Lewis lighting department.  The only problem was, the light we bought looked rather good, and made the crack-filled, scuffed landing look even more unacceptable… now we needed to redecorate. 

 Changing a light bulb swiftly turned into a full redecoration job and all went well.  That is until, after stripping away the wallpaper, I realised that the entire hallway needed lining paper prior to painting.  At that point things ground to a halt.  We were by now quite accustomed to the walls in their rustic if rather unfinished state.  My mother-in-law said they looked quite ‘Provencal’ which was perhaps stretching the truth a touch, but at least she didn’t say they had character.  Suffice to say, I surrendered and the decorator was duly called to finish the job.

 There are lots of reasons why people need help with jobs in their properties, and it isn’t always a lack of know-how, but often simply a lack of time or a realisation that time could be better spent doing what we know best and letting other people take the pressure off.

 Joe White works full-time for Accommodation Windsor Limited as Maintenance Manager.  If you require help with maintenance, redecoration or design advice at your property, please do not hesitate to contact us at www.accommodation-windsor.co.uk on 01753 833747.

With the end of my degree looming and the promise of final year exams soon to be over I decided it was probably a good time to start thinking about life after university; or as we like to call it “the real world”.  Luckily I stumbled across a job advert on Facebook of all places.  This advert stated that Accommodation Windsor Limited was looking for an Office Junior to help with administration, marketing, accounts, sales and much more besides.  I thought what a great opportunity that would be to try my hand at a bit of everything.  So I responded with my CV attached and waited patiently, but not altogether optimistically!

I didn’t have to wait very long, the next day I received a call asking if I would be interested in having a phone interview for the position, which of course I was. Fifteen minutes later, the friendly woman on the other end of the phone told me that she thought it had gone really well and I would hear shortly about having an interview in person.  A week later I was in the office of Accommodation Windsor for an interview, which was (to my relief!) very relaxed and informal and 2 weeks later I began working as an Office Junior.

When people ask me what I’m doing now I’ve finished my degree they usually expect me to say either one of 2 things, looking for a job or doing something related to the environment, my degree being a BSc in Geography.  They are always surprised therefore when I tell them that I am working full time for an accommodation company.  When they ask why I was interested in the job I tell them that I wanted to gain experience of working in a busy office environment where I could learn as much about the different aspects of running a company as I can.   And I definitely picked the right job for that!

My first week at Accommodation Windsor was a blur of new information and new faces.  I was shown how to check people into the Bed and Breakfast, how to work the databases, how to create, pay and file invoices, how to check the keys back in everyday and so much more that I’m still trying to remember!  Now I have a long list of daily tasks, my favourite of which is checking people into Alma House B&B because I get to chat to so many different people from all over the world.

 Each day I walk into the town centre during my lunch hour and see that it is always buzzing with people either shopping or sight-seeing.  As far as places to sit and eat your lunch on a sunny (or even rainy!) afternoon you’d be hard pressed to beat the benches outside Windsor Castle.  I am curious how long it will take before I stop feeling amazed at how beautiful a place Windsor is!

I am still getting to grips with some aspects of the job and learning new things everyday and of course I still make some mistakes now and then but I always go home at the end of a long day feeling satisfied and happy that I was lucky enough to get such a lovely job in such a lovely place.