Walks from Windsor

Beginner-friendly: A gigantic well-signposted park. It’s completely fine to deviate from the suggested route — explore as you like! The lunch stop is a simple café, so no messing around with booking a table in advance.

Windsor Great Park

Windsor Castle (15m in)

Windsor (4h30 in)

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

3 lunch spots: Windsor Great Park (2h30 in) — the King And Castle, or Savill Garden Visitor Centre Cafe; plus Water Lilies at Windsor Great Park (2h45 in)

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Two Brewers Pub, the Prince Harry, or the Royal Windsor

Source: Trains2Green.

Parkland, lake shores, ornamental gardens, light woodland, deer park, tree-lined avenue and historic town streets.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Windsor Great Park (3h30 in)

Windsor Castle

Windsor (3h30 in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: Savill Garden Visitor Centre Cafe (1h45 in)

4 end-of-walk rewards: the Prince Harry, the Carpenters Arms, the Royal Windsor, or the Boatman

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Recommended: A scenic, mostly traffic-free route using waterside and green paths out of Maidenhead through Braywick Nature Reserve, then crossing the Thames on the Summerleaze footbridge to follow a wooded stretch of the Thames Path and before leaving the river at Boveney to cross meadows and pass under railway arches into Eton. Mostly flat apart from the bridges; can get muddy after rain in Braywick Park and along the riverside. Passes Dorney Lake; no refreshment stops between Bray and Eton, though there are picnic places. Take a toilet break at Braywick Leisure Centre as facilities are sparse afterwards.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

End-of-walk reward: Plenty of refreshment options in Eton, with Windsor just across the river.

Warnings: The riverside path is rugged and can get very muddy after rain. Cycle barriers on the Cut Foot Bridge. Direct access to the river along a long stretch — watch for tripping hazards.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Long walk.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Windsor Castle

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

An easy, flat route that essentially follows the Thames Path, with a short amount of street walking to reach the towpath. No stiles, plenty of benches; the surface alternates between grass and hard-packed soil or gravel and concrete or tarmac. A few narrow points and a couple of stretches that cut through gardens. Essentially follows the Thames Path National Trail.

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Thames.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Good view of The Long Walk with Windsor Castle in the distance. A route mainly following the Three Castles Path through Windsor Great Park, with a short urban walk at Ascot, footpaths and bridleways that can be muddy with exposed roots, wide and smooth tarmac roads through the park itself. The park is quite hilly. Follows the Three Castles Path. The path near the George III statue is often closed during winter, with an easy road detour available. Public toilets and coffee places in Ascot.

The Windsor Great Park: A vast royal deer park south of Windsor Castle, crossed by the Long Walk.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: Few benches and no facilities within Windsor Great Park; amenities at Ascot.

Warnings: Getting from the Crown Estate into Windsor Great Park involves a busy road crossing with no lights or pedestrian crossing. A footpath near the George III statue is sometimes closed in winter due to poor ground conditions, requiring a detour; park roads are shared with cars, buses, horses and cyclists.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Flat parkland, deer park, historic royal landscape, ornamental gardens and lake.

Source: An alternative variant of Slough to Egham via Windsor Great Park (Saturday Walkers Club).

Parkland, lake shores, ornamental gardens, light woodland, deer park, tree-lined avenue and historic town streets.

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Source: A variant of Sunningdale to Windsor (Saturday Walkers Club).