The route of our river walk can be found on the following link:

Stratford-upon-Avon walks leaflet

We walked all of the route although not from A to B because we ventured into town for lunch before returning to the route.

The fountain was installed in Goswell Park, Windsor in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Fountain was inspired by the crown jewels and features 60 different water jets. There are also lights which make it a magical site at night. There is a garden area around the fountain where you can sit and admire the fountain.

Sadly the gates to the garden where the fountain is installed were closed on the day on the day we chose to include it as part of our walking route.

This afternoon I went in search of a giant spider. My quest took me to Leegomery Pool where I found two swans. It was a pleasant surprise, I have not seen swans on this pool before. It would be lovely if they took up residence there.

I was successful in my search for the giant spider he was lurking in the location I thought he would be.

Mr C surprised me with an impromptu visit to Hodnet Hall Gardens, a place I planned to visit (alone) the previous week but having tested positive for Covid I chose to stop at home to keep my bugs to myself.

We had lunch before walking round the gardens and grounds on one of the last open days for this season. The weather wasn’t entirely kind to us with a lone black cloud deciding to shed its watery load at just the wrong moment. The randomness of that cloud added to the enjoyment of our visit.

Thank You Mr C

After completing my Queen Elizabeth II memorial walking challenge; 96k (60 miles) by virtually walking from Sonning Common to London, I retraced my steps on the virtual route from London back to Windsor (just under 29 miles). I concluded my challenge with a ‘real’ walk along the 2.64 miles ‘Long Walk’ from the Windsor Castle Cambridge gate entrance to the Copper Horse statue of King George III.

We enjoyed the views and seeing the deer herd as we got closer to the large statue of King George III that is at the far end of the walk. I enjoyed the sense of achievement and reflected on Queen Elizabeth II as I took in the view from the elevated location before walking the pathway back to Windsor.

My medal didn’t arrive in time for it to be presented at the end of The LongWalk . When it arrived I had it presented in one of my favourite local places, Hodnet Hall Gardens which also has lovely tree lined walks.

All the proceeds of medal purchases were equally donated between selected Queen’s Animal Charities. I have made additional donations to two of them; RSPB and the Dogs Trust. I have also made a donation to The Queens Green Canopy which was an initiative to plant trees to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The initiative has now been extended so that trees can be planted in memoriam to honour Her Majesty.

For breakfast I chose the continental option. It was every bit as good as I remembered it from last time. Comfortably replete, we walked through Windsor to the Cambridge Gates (The Windsor Great Park entrance to the castle).

The weather was perfect for the the walk; it was so warm we didn’t need to wear coats. The walk is 2.64 miles long and we enjoyed the views and seeing the deer herd as we got closer to the large statue of King George III that is located at the far end of the walk. We enjoyed the sense of achievement and took in the view from the elevated location before walking the pathway in the opposite direction in time for lunch in Clarence Brasserie & tea room where I chose fishcake with a sweet chilli sauce.

After lunch I sat on a bench whilst Mr C went to look for a Moroccan restaurant we had booked for the Monday night. He was gone so long I began to wonder if he had got lost or forgotten about me. Whilst I was waiting two ladies decided to sit next to me on the bench even though there were several empty benches nearby. As they had crowded me out I moved up a bit to give myself more space only for the lady next to me to shuffle up close to me again! I decided to move to a nearby vacant bench which turned out to be in a nicer spot than the one I had vacated. Whilst there I was asked to take a photograph of family group who wanted their picture taken standing in front of Windsor Castle.

When Mr C eventually returned half an hour later we walked across the Windsor bridge to visit an antiquarian bookshop that Mr C had remembered from our previous visit to Eton. Next we retraced our steps across the bridge in search of a naughty cake before taking a leisurely boat trip along the Thames to Boveney Lock after which we returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.

We dined in The Ivy Royal Windsor Brasserie. The food was lovely (I chose fish and chips followed by mini chocolate truffles) and we had excellent service and plenty of friendly banter with the gentleman who was waiting on us.

We finished our evening in Wetherspoons for a final drink before it was time to turn in for the night.