Top Ten Things to do in Windsor for FREE

Posted: Tue 4 October 2011 at 14:15

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

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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

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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

hawker hurricane at Windsor, serviced apartments windsor, accommodation windsor ltd 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 Church Windsor

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

Windsor Swans

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

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

jubilee fountain 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 Knowing When to Call in the Professionals

Posted: Tue 4 October 2011 at 13:14

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 its 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 friends 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 doesnt 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 didnt 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 wed 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 didnt 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 isnt 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.

My First Week at Accommodation Windsor Limited

Posted: Thu 23 June 2011 at 13:31

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 didnt 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 Im doing now Ive 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 Im 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 youd 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.

Before & After at the Courtyard, Windsor

Posted: Fri 18 February 2011 at 16:00

Looking for a new property to add to our portfolio back in 2007, we were excited about viewing the Penthouse apartment at The Courtyard. Set back from the High Street in a charming and secluded courtyard, yet just moments from the bustling shops, restaurants and Castle, it couldn’t be better located.

Big too, with two bathrooms AND allocated parking. There was only one problem… the hideous décor…

The apartment had been a bolt hole for the owners who lived in Dubai, and on viewing the property we surmised that the last time it had seen a paintbrush was circa 1988. However, it was spacious, light and superbly located – with parking. We never met the vendors, dealing solely with the agent; and the only sticking point was their insistence that all contents were included in the price, so our first job was to hire a man with a van… and it was out with the chintz.

Money was short and time precious, so we painted, replaced as much furniture as we could afford and rented it out within a couple of weeks of completion.

Courtyard Before Refurbishment After Refurbishment Courtyard Apartments Windsor

Our first guest was a dream – he booked initially for a few weeks but ended up staying for over a year.

Our guest travelled regularly and was relaxed about us having access to the property whilst he was away. During each of his extended trips, we nipped in and blitzed another room. His only concern was raised when we told him about plans to knock through from the lounge to the kitchen to create a breakfast bar. He was worried that with the new open plan layout he would be disturbed by noise from the washing machine / tumble dryer when he was relaxing or working in the lounge. Good point! So with the help of our builders, we sourced and installed a Miele super silent model.

Windsor Short Lets Makeover Project Accommodation in Windsor

The photos featured below show the process from 80’s disaster zone to stylish flagship property.

We started with the main bathroom; clean but old-fashioned, It had to go. With stylish new tiles and a funky white suite, it’s now a haven for relaxation.

before bathroom makeover after bathroom makeover

We knocked through from the lounge to the kitchen opening up the space and creating a new breakfast bar. The lounge was dreary and dated with dark grey carpets and lots of swags and tails at the windows. We laid solid wood floor throughout the lounge and hallway and soft, neutral carpets in the hallway and bedrooms. We ripped out the melamine units making the lounge appear instantly bigger.

Out with the old and in with the new fitted kitchen. We fitted an integrated silent washing machine / tumble dryer, dishwasher, fridge and freezer. Granite worktops and black ceramic floor tiles add drama.

Peach walls, velour headboard and white melamine furniture. It must have been stylish at some point. We re-decorated, re-carpeted bedrooms, added oak flooring to hallway and living room, replaced the furniture and put in a new en-suite – that’s better!

ensuite before makeover ensuite after makeover

This apartment was awarded 4 GOLD stars by Visit England in subsequent years. Modern and stylish but with a homely feel, the property is spacious with lots of natural light, and delightful views to both Bachelors Acre and Windsor Castle; just about as close to town as you can get. We’ve installed flat screen TVs and top spec SKY+ package, ensuring high occupancy and lots of happy guests. To find out more about pricing and availability at the Courtyard Penthouse apartment please contact us on 01753 833747 or stay@accwindsor.co.uk.

The Courtyard penthouse Windsor self catering Bedroom Penthouse Apartment Windsor

Accommodation Windsor – a small company with big ideas…

Posted: Tue 8 February 2011 at 10:54

There are a number of accommodation providers in Windsor; from Guesthouses and Hotels to private Landlords and Agents, offering properties to rent on short or long-term agreements.

So why choose Accommodation Windsor Limited?

We are unique in this area providing a fantastic variety of properties available for short-term lets from a minimum of one week and we will always be open and honest in our dealings with you.

We focus on Windsor and Eton – we love this area and think it has a lot to offer to both visitors and those relocating to the area. We have a wealth of experience and knowledge of Windsor and have an office superbly located in the town centre. Easy to find and best placed to provide you with all the advice you need on your property’s location from schools to supermarkets. Check out our article on What Makes Windsor Special.

We know our properties – a handful we own, but the majority of the sixty or so properties in our portfolio we manage on behalf of our Landlords and we know each and every one.

We know how the heating works and how to turn on the TV.

We regularly visit our properties and strive to improve the standard on an ongoing basis. We also provide a comprehensive information pack which contains everything you need from local maps to appliance user guides.

We know about accommodation – having been in the town since we bought Alma House Bed & Breakfast in 1998. Whatever your accommodation needs we can help; from providing one night accommodation in our B&B to short listing properties for rental or purchase. We have previously bought and sold property in Windsor for ourselves and clients.

We regularly introduce buyers and sellers and are often approached for advice on buying property in Windsor, whether as an investment or a home.

We’re here to help – with a friendly and innovative team. Our office is open from 8:30am to 6pm Monday to Fridays and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays. Outside of these hours we have an emergency mobile and call-out staff for those situations that simply won’t wait until the morning.

We’re flexible in our approach – we tried to standardise things but you are all so individual! For this reason we have learnt to adapt to your needs. Whether it’s an awkward flight time or you want some flowers and champagne on arrival – we’ll do our best to find a solution that makes your stay with us as smooth and stress-free as possible.

We have great relationships with our Landlords – many of whom have become personal friends.

We love to work with positive and professional Landlords who are keen to maintain and improve their properties recognising that this is beneficial not only to you, the client, but also to their investment.

We employ a full-time Property Manager and Handyman – to ensure that any unfortunate problems are dealt with quickly and efficiently. If we can’t fix it, we have a long list of people who can. We work hard to anticipate problems in advance and seek to replace or renew before you’re inconvenienced.

We employ a full-time housekeeping team – in order to maintain a consistently high standard of property cleanliness and presentation. Our cleaning team works directly for us ensuring excellent communication. The team takes responsibility for cleaning, laundering, basic maintenance and weekly servicing where requested.

We’re friendly – having built up great relationships with other agents and short-term providers in the town, if we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who can. Many of our clients use short term accommodation as a stop-gap to purchasing or renting a home longer term and we are well placed to find an agent who can help find the right property for you.

We provide a personal service – by being local and available. We’re not a faceless online entity that you’ll never get to meet; our team is friendly and approachable and the office is centrally located near all our properties so you can call in if you need to.

We give you peace of mind – by ensuring that our properties are compliant with health and safety regulations. We know the rules and check all properties have working smoke alarms, compliant lighting, annual gas safety checks and regular boiler servicing. That way we all get a good night’s sleep!

We listen to our customers – if you’re not happy nor are we.

It might be that the property failed to meet your expectations or maybe you loved the curtains; either way we want to know. We provide feedback forms for each customer in every property and if you are kind enough to let us know what you think, we’ll listen and learn – good or bad.

We have lots of happy customers – but that won’t stop us from looking to further improve the services and property that we provide to you. Please see our Testimonials page for some of our customers’ comments.

Call Accommodation Windsor Limited – for all your accommodation needs contact us on 01753 833747 or Book Online here: www.accommodation-windsor.co.uk