We went to breakfast earlier than usual so that we could catch a train to London. When we arrived at Windsor and Eton Riverside station, we had to wait several minutes whilst the ticket office assistant was on the telephone. When she had finished her call she informed that there was a reduced service during the summer months and this was advertised on the platform. At this stage we hadn’t got as far as the platform! We were further told us that the next train wouldn’t be for 45 minutes. We decided not to wait and walked to Windsor’s other station, Windsor and Eton Central, where there would be more options. We purchased our tickets which included the London Underground and as soon as we got onto on the platform a train arrived.

We arrived in London next to Tower Hill and the Tower of London without any delays. I purchased a Historic Royal Palaces season ticket for Mr C’s birthday present. We planned to visit Hampton Palace later during our stay so this option provided good value for money. Scaffolding was surrounding the main entrance to the Tower of London so visitors were directed to a temporary entrance.

Once inside the Tower, we walked round the outside of the White Tower to see the ceramic poppy display that had, once again, been installed at the Tower. On this occasion the poppies on display mark 80 years since VE day and the end of the Second World War.

At one stage the Tower’s resident squirrel scuttled through the poppies right to my feet probably expecting a tasty snack. He left disappointed, he needs to see the Yeoman Warders for those. Speaking of Yeoman Warders, we made our way from the poppies to the meeting point for a Yeoman Warder talk. Our guide tuned out to be John, the Yeoman Gaoler.  The talk was excellent, bringing the Tower and its history to life. One part of the tour wasn’t possible, The Church of St Peter ad Vincula, which was cordoned off for restoration and repairs.

Next we had some lunch in the busy café where we were lucky enough to find a seat. We left the café to find that there was no longer a queue to visit the Crown Jewels so we took the opportunity to see them next as they are always worth a visit. When we had finished in the Jewel House we found that there was no queue to enter the White Tower which is home to the Royal Armouries so we went in.

It was an unexpected bonus be able to do both, we had thought the queues to get in would be too long and we would only have time to visit one of them. As we were leaving the White Tower, I purchased a couple of books about the Tower of London and a book about the Crown Jewels. It was now time to catch the train back to Windsor. The trains ran smoothly and we arrived back in Windsor at 6pm. We were able to book a table in the Giggling Squid for later in the evening after we had freshened up after our days adventure. The food and service were excellent and we got chatting to a couple of ladies on a nearby table. We returning to the George Inn for a nightcap before turning in for the night.

For breakfast I once again chose a few items from the Full English option. On this occasion my plan for a smaller breakfast didn’t work, the chef added extras of the items I had chosen so that my plate was full!

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel  and drove to Bury St Edmunds in order to visit St Edmundsbury Cathedral. It was one to add to my Cathedral passport which details my pilgrimage to British  Cathedrals since the passport was launched in 2020. Starting the pilgrimage  off was a bit of challenge, shortly after the pilgrimage passport was launched England and other parts of Britain were put into lockdown due to the Covid 19 epidemic.

At the Cathedral, a lady from the tourist information area pointed out some highlights and suggested we also visit the nearby St Mary’s church where Henry VIII’s sister, Mary Tudor is buried next to the high altar. She also told me to look at the spectacular Angel vaulted ceiling.

We enjoyed our tour of the Cathedral where we learned that the tower and crossing were quite modern and completed in the 1950s. We had enough time to visit St Mary’s where we were greeted by one of the guides who shared detailed history of the building including the location of Mary Tudor’s (Queen of France & Duchess of Suffolk) tomb. Mary Tudor was married to Louis XII of France until his death after which she married the Duke of Suffolk.

Besides the two beautiful church spaces the town of Bury St Edmunds is delightful. We didn’t have time to explore the town but we had just enough time to visit the Abbey gardens before continuing our journey to Windsor.

We broke our journey for lunch in The Old Butchers at Balsham a place recommended on the Extra Mile website. On arrival we found the menu was not as extensive as the website suggested but the food (in my case a cherry flap jack with yoghurt topping) was both excellent and delicious. The weather was warm and sunny allowing us to sit outside.

The remainder of the journey to Windsor was tedious; lots of motorway and duel carriageway driving. On arrival at the hotel we checked in and found that we had been booked into the same room we had stayed in on our previous visit. Initially we were a little dismayed, we had been hoping to stay in the annex near to the car park and station. We also remembered the bed being a little on the small side, which it is not.

Later I realised the problem was the mattresses were tired which meant I kept rolling into the middle (small bed space). The mattresses have been replaced and are now super cosy.

We chilled out in the hotel room, cooling off from the muggy heat before enjoying our free pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar. Then we walked the short distance across the bridge into Eton where we dined in the Cote Brasserie. Before returning to our hotel for the evening we had a nightcap in the George Inn.

After a good night’s sleep we were treated to a river view in the hotel’s dining room whilst we enjoyed our breakfast selected from the hot and cold options on offer. We then walked over the Windsor bridge into Eton looking for suitable places for evening meals.

Our recce complete, we made our way to Windsor Castle where we had pre-booked tickets for a visit. We knew that our bags would be checked but weren’t expecting a full airport style scan. This caught Mr C off guard, especially when he realised that his multi-tool knife might fall outside of what was allowed through. He had been expecting to have to leave his bag in a locker before entering the grounds, but this turned out not to be the case. He declared the multi-tool knife and just to be on the safe side, the lady checking us through security put it in a bag and gave Mr C a ticket to retrieve it when we left the castle grounds.

Just after we entered the castle grounds, we realised that the ‘Changing of the Guard’ ceremony was about to take place. We hurried to the parade ground to see the Coldstream Guards stand down and be replaced by the Ghurkas. We didn’t have a prime spot for capturing photos but it was a great experience.

Next we entered Windsor Castle to see the rooms and State Apartments. Mr C lingered a while in St George’s Hall where he particularly enjoyed the Coats of Arms displayed on the ceiling. After our tour of the castle it was time for lunch in the Undercroft Café. There was a queue, where unfortunately the man behind me was crowding  me out so closely that he was physically touching me. How rude!! When we arrived at the serving area I stepped aside for Mr C to order our food and choices. The same man, by getting too close, caused Mr C to step aside. The pushy man tried to make an order only to be told to step aside so that Mr C could place his order first. The café was rather full with no tables free but luckily we were able to share a table with other diners.

After lunch we made our way to see Queen Mary’s Dolls House where, much to our surprise we found there wasn’t a queue. The detail of the miniature items within the house is amazing.

Before leaving the castle (and picking up the contraband item) we visited St Georges Chapel, finding that its history wasn’t shown off to its best advantage.

It was too early to return to the hotel so we returned to Eton and attempted to follow The Eton Walkway, a short two mile walk. At one point the directions were confusing, leading us to miss out at least one of the points of interest.

We dined in a lovely French style Bistro, A La Russe where I learned that service à la russe (service in the Russian style) a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially, and the food being portioned on the plate by the waiter (usually at a sideboard in the dining room) before being given to the diner.

This is different from the older service à la française (French: [sɛʁvis a la fʁɑ̃sɛz]; “service in the French style”) in which all the food (or at least several courses) is brought out simultaneously, in an impressive display of tureens and serving dishes, and the diners put it on their plates themselves.*

After dining Mr C made his way to a pub. On my walk there I was heckled by a couple as I walked past them. I chose to ignore them and as I walked on by I heard them shouting ‘Oi Doris’ to me. I carried on walking and didn’t look back. The chosen pub turned out to be rather dodgy, with substandard wine.

On our way back to the hotel we lingered on Windsor bridge enjoying the views. We had a short (friendly) encounter with a slightly tipsy man who engaged us in conversation.  Eventually we were able to make our excuses and return to our hotel. The slightly tipsy man was last seen walking towards two ladies that were also on the bridge.

*Info from Wikipedia