Help with Widsor Castle planning

The double decker bus is a very good idea. The timetables have been written taking traffic into account and vary by time of day. When I was on it we actually had to wait at several timing points due to being early.
From GPS tracking yesterday the 0745 from Victoria ran on time, the 0845 was 6 late and the 0915 left 5 late but was on time at Windsor.
On Monday and Tuesday all three ran right time.
French Brothers run a number of boat trips on the River Thames from Windsor.
On the 2 hour trip you can pre book a cream tea. Book on line and you get a discount.
You are never going to get a time when Windsor isn't crowded. The place is always busy with tourists. Just go with the flow.

Hi!

Agree with isn31c about the 702 bus - particularly since you are in S. Kensington. I lived in Windsor for almost 6 months a couple of years ago and took the bus into London 4 or 5 days a week. It is cheap, reliable, and convenient.

I am not sure about the changing of the guard. I remember small groups of guards holding up traffic a few days a week - not sure if there is a larger ceremony inside the castle. Others will know much more.

What to do other than the castle? Windsor is a cute, compact village clustered around the castle and train station and there are gift shops, restaurants, and pubs. If you cross the street from the castle toward the train station and continue down Peascod Street, the shops and tea rooms and pubs continue down the hill. (Up hill on the way back.)

BUT: I would recommend venturing into Eton, instead. It is a short, pleasant walk downhill and over the Thames into Eton, where there are wonderful ancient clothiers for the students, cute pubs, quaint lanes to explore, and Eton College itself. That is a walk we love to do with friends. I think it is far more charming than the Peascod Street walk. (Eton does offer tours inside, though I have never done that. It is soooo very pretty from the outside that it is worth a visit, IMHO.)

Of course there is also The Long Walk, which is through lovely parkland/lawns, but you mention you have “seniors” in your group and want to avoid walking much. In that case, depending on their mobility issues, the stroll into Eton might also be too much for them? It is up hill on the way back. The distances are not long… but may be for your “senior” friends.

Don’t worry about beating the crowds. You won’t - unless you visit on a stormy day in February - and that’s okay. Windsor is a tourist town. There are always people. It’s still very much worth visiting!

We were there 2 weeks ago. It had been decades since I had visited. This time, I wanted to take my travel companion. We were able to see the changing of the guard’s marching to the castle- that was a nice treat and we enjoyed it. (Reference - I’ve seen similar ceremonies is the UK and other countries, but familiarity didn’t dim this experience.) The castle visit itself was a real disappointment.

Terribly, terribly overcrowded. There were many school groups - teeny tiny preschoolers to high school age. The little ones were sweet and well chaperoned, but the children were too young to appreciate the setting and the constant manipulating around the groups meant more attention paid to traffic flow than surroundings. The older kids were often uninterested, chatting amongst themselves and disrupting smooth passage through the rooms. I can’t fully blame the teens - the groups had no audio guides and no leadership or explanation from their chaperones and teachers. On the whole, the various older school groups showed no regard for other tourists.

There was a very long queue for Queen Mary’s dollhouse. My companion voted to skip it totally.

St George Chaprl was full, but manageable. I enjoyed it and felt the audio guide added a lot. Many wandered through without accessing their audio.

We enjoyed wandering Eton as suggested above.

The surprise for me was the Thames boat excursions downhill from the castle. I was so burned out and burned up after the crowds and behavior of visitors in the castle that a nice quiet drift on the Thames was what I needed. We took a 2 hour tour that included going through a lock and multiple sights en route. 40 minute tours as well. Not the best venture for those seeking thrills or excitement, but a relaxing cruise.

Edit - I see the cruise mentioned above. Missed that on a first reading. There were a number of older folks on the boat with us. It might be worth researching if it is of interest to your group.

I don’t want to discourage a visit to Windsor Castle, but did want to share our experience. For reference, I am one who is typically not disturbed by crowds - I even find ways to enjoy Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors, another perennially over-crowded spot. Perhaps we hit Windsor Castle on a particularly bad day or time period or maybe I was not in the right frame of mind. If there is ever a next time for me, I will come better mentally prepared.

thank you all for the extremely helpful guidance! based on the input, i’m now able to make a few confident decisions:

• take the 702 bus from south kensington instead of the train from paddington
• give up trying to optimize for crowd levels when booking an entrance slot — just go with what fits best
• add eton college and a stroll through windsor town center as to-dos after the castle visit
• skip the change of guard at Windsor (mainly because Friday would be a better fit, and i’d rather not force it into Thursday), and instead plan to see the horse guards change in London

thanks again!