London to Highclere for Highclere Castle Festival / Stop in Windsor?

Train to Newbury from Paddington. Journey time 1 hour, 2 trains per hour. Taxi from the station- booked ahead as they will be busy.

The xx.05 is a fast train bound for Devon and Cornwall (book ahead on that one outbound), the xx.30 is a change at Reading onto a local stopping train- no need to book ahead on this.
Don't book a specific return train then you can leave when you wish.

The kids travel free, for you an off peak day return is £30.50 each.

Stopping in Windsor is not really sensible IMO. You will have to catch different trains to Slough, change for Windsor, time there, takes up too much of the day.

To make the most of the day I would opt for morning entry, I believe you can then stay as long as you like then,

To get to Paddington take an Edgware Road bound Circle line tube train from Victoria to Paddington, or the #36 bus which goes straight there up the side of Hyde Park and past Marble Arch.

Hi There!
Thank you very much for the information -- may I ask what site I use to book the outbound tickets you recommended to book ahead of time? I selected the 10:30am entry for Highclere so I assume we will need to leave out hotel around 8?

(and thank you for the feedback about Windsor - i think we will maybe try to do that on a separate day as a half day trip first thing in the am?)

I would leave the hotel at 0730. Give plenty of time to get to Paddington. Take the 0835 (that one happens to be a through train with a final destination of Exeter, just to be unusual) with just one stop at Reading.

That train arrives Newbury at 0917 (the next arrives at 0954) so there should be no stress, touch wood. Book a taxi for 0930, you'll be there before 10am.

Although you're travelling on Great Western, their website is often very glitchy with Americans, so book on LNER. Specify an afternoon train (any train, it is just part of the way the system works, but then actually travel on any train that suits you) and ensure you have chosen an Off Peak Day Return ticket.

I concur with isn31c to not add Windsor Castle with your visit to Highclere. The public transportation logistics to do both in the same day will eat up more time than desired.

Based on what is described for the Highclere Castle Festival, your family could easily spend 2-3 hours with the various activities and letting the kids run around on the lawn and enjoying the music.

I visited Highclere on Thu 24 Aug 2023 with an early afternoon entry to the house. While there wasn't a queue to enter the house at the time, the rooms were still fairly crowded. While the outside temp was comfortable, when you have more bodies in smaller spaces (hallways between rooms without cross ventilation), I found the inside house temp to be a little uncomfortable. I took a break between the house tour and the Egyptian exhibit in the basement rooms. The Egyptian exhibit in the basement rooms was worse as far as ventilation (even with fans turned on) and clamminess with the number of bodies in the rooms so I hurried through more than what I would have wanted to otherwise.

My recommendation is if there is a strong interest in Egyptology, do that part of the visit first when fewer people are there. Then do the upstairs house tour. The outdoor temps in October are likely to be lower than what I experienced in Aug, so it's likely to be a different situation; however I hope that sharing my experience will help make your visit more enjoyable. If the interests of the two adults (I'm assuming you have two adults with the two youngsters) differ, you might want to split up with one of you minding both kids while the other does the house or Egyptian exhibits and vice versa.

I wish I could attend the Highclere Castle Festival -- the list of activities sound very interesting!

blm2023 - thank you very much for the detail from your visit to Highclere - very helpful! We have had our London dates booked for sometime but am behind on planning on activities while there and as luck would have it our dates coincide with the Highclere Castle Festival - a place I've always wanted to visit!

A few follow up questions if you don't mind: 1) how long is the ride from the train station to the Castle? 2) is the tour of the castle guided or self led? 3) is there any place to purchase food on the estate (the picnic boxes are unfortunately sold out the day of our visit) 4) and a very niche question - but do you recall seeing any strollers / prams? i am assuming they are not allowed inside the castle tour?

Thank you again!

I answered your questions, and it doesn't seem as if my reply went through (so I repeated my answers here).

1) the taxi ride was about 20 min. I called the Cabco company when I changed trains at Reading to order a cab. From Reading to Newbury was about 10-15 min on the train. I had contacted Cabco while in the States to find out how much the fare would be. The answer was £22.00 on the meter. The ride to/from Highclere was very close to that amount. When I was dropped off at Highclere, I booked a return taxi. However I finished with Highclere 75+ min earlier than the booked taxi. I called the company and they picked me up earlier. The Highclere website does list potential cab companies to use.

2) the castle tour is self-led. They have laminated sheets for more details in each room, that you returned before you went to the next room. Guides were also in each room to answer any questions.

3) The Tea/Coach rooms will be open on the day of the Festival according to the Highclere website. I bought two drinks for just under £3 and a ciabatta sandwich for £6. There is no picnicking on the grounds (signs are posted), however you can sit on the grass and/or enjoy the walks around the estate. There were plenty of seats and tables around the Tea/Coach room areas.

4) Any strollers need to be left at the front door according to the Highclere website at your own risk.

Hi again - Attempting to book my train tickets to Highclere and wondering if the info below looks correct?!

I went to Lner.com -- would this be the correct stations: London Paddington to Newbury 2 Adults?
08:44
Depart
London Paddington
See all calling points
09:23
Arrive
Newbury

Showing the cost for 2 adults at around 61 pounds (does that seem right?) Do I want a fixed ticket or flexible (not sure what our return time will be?)

Thank you!!

Yes off peak day return is £30.50 each, £61 for two. That ticket is valid on any train in both directions.

The timings I am getting are still Paddington depart 0835, Newbury arrive 0917- on LNER, GWR and Northern.

But they are flexible tickets so if you get to Paddington by say 0815 it matters not a jot whether the train is at 0835 or 0844.

Just be aware this is the morning after a tube strike, so tube trains to Paddington may be hit or miss. Allow extra time.

Thank you so much isn21c!!

Your help is so very appreciated - this forum is such a blessing!

Tickets are booked with the flexible ticket option so we can enjoy the day without feeling rushed to make a train time! Can't wait for this adventure! Fingers crossed for a beautiful October day!

Outbound: Sun 8 Oct 23 London Paddington (PAD) to Newbury (NBY) 08:44 >to 09:23
Return: Sun 8 Oct 23 Newbury (NBY) to London Paddington (PAD) 15:19 >to 15:59

Ah,

That explains the difference in timings. I thought you were going on Saturday 7 October, now I see it is Sunday 8- that all makes perfect sense.