SWRail Waterloo to Windsor - Fri pm or Sat am??/Windsor or airport pre flight night?

Hi Cheryl

Is your London hotel near Waterloo? That's the only time I'd take the SWR train from Waterloo to Windsor. I have never particularly liked Waterloo station since the days of the boat trains, nor do I like the slog up from Windsor & Eton Riverside where they arrive. (I know that Stuart does but we can disagree, eh?)

I prefer the gentle ride around on the shuttle from Slough (sit on the left) and the arrival into Windsor & Eton Central.

I wouldn't cut the time at Heathrow too close.

Sounds nice trip - can I come too?

Would we need to purchase train tickets in advance, nailing down a particular time?

No

forgot the train ticket to Windsor question - that's correct - NO.

Regarding train tickets to Windsor- both routes are now contactless payment.

On the Waterloo route contactless single and a physical single are the same price- £8.90 off peak after 7pm, £13 peak
On the Paddington route contactless single is £7.90 off peak, £12.40 peak, physical single is £14.20 anytime

If going on Friday night I wouldn't want to go on either route between 4pm and 7pm in any event, regardless of the price, due to commuter traffic.

You are short haul to Dublin, so technically a 7.50am check in would do, but I'm not sure I would want to pull that so tight.
Personally I would rather relocate to Heathrow on Sunday night just to remove any possibility of anything going wrong, but that is a highly subjective judgement.

I can't remember if you are in Wells on 30 November (Advent Sunday) - it's not showing yet but I would imagine they will have a special evening (maybe candlelit?) Advent Lessons and Carols Service. I've just been marking my Calendar today for 3am on the Monday morning 1 December UK Time when I am virtually at St Mark's Cathedral, Seattle for their O' Antiphonal Advent Service- traditionally one of the liturgical highlights of my year, so that weekend is very much on my mind.

Something else you may encounter somewhere in a Church is a Christmas Tree Festival- Windsor's is 28 November to 1 December.

Thanks!

I thought there are enough trains to Windsor that it shouldn't be a problem.

NIgel,
The hotel I have my eyes on in Windsor is right near the Riverside train station (2 min walk). I thought that would be handy for an evening trip to Windsor. Google maps say 6 minutes walk up to castle entry. Is that optimistic given the hill?
Also, it appears we would not have to switch trains on the Waterloo ride (Is that true?) I thought we'd miss good views if we head to Windsor after sunset. ? (But thank you about sitting on the left side)

I hate to admit that I'm only about to make our London reservations today. We have stayed at PI Waterloo, and it appears there are still rooms available for our dates. I thought that would be handy if we need to leave luggage and pick up before the train ride---although now I'm not sure if Waterloo stores luggage as CH does. I did prefer County Hall, but I think regular rooms are booked. I'd prefer a cosy bnb near the train station, but PI is a safe bet with ease of cancellation, if necessary, breakfast option or not, etc.

Thank you for your caution on the Monday morning commute to the airport. Upon rechecking the Windsor hotel info, it appears breakfast may be 7, not 6:30, so it appears it would make sense to get to the airport and have breakfast there or brunch when we get to Dublin. I know my husband would prefer that. And, if I need to check luggage for my charity shop finds:) I'll have plenty of time!

Thanks, Stuart, for your added thoughts on the airport. I will keep that booking for the best risk management and also Art's comfort. (We do always have a sigh of relief once we arrive at the airport.) However, maybe I'll use that as a bargaining chip to convince him on the Friday night trip out to Windsor. I had been thinking of taking a train departure between 8 and 9 pm so we could arrive, check in, and hit the hay.

You are correct that we are in Wells on the 30th, so I appreciate that added information about the service. Sounds like a good fit for our plans.

Cheryl

Oh, and Nigel, we'd love to have you and Carol join us on our trip! :)

The PI Waterloo is a Stasher location, so that must mean they also store luggage of guests.

It's correct that the Waterloo route is a direct train, no change.

I am certain in my own mind that 6 minutes walk is about correct to the Castle entrance,

It's only since I joined this forum that I have repeatedly questioned my sanity in my attachment to W and E Riverside station. It is just natural to me. Years ago I used to arrive at the Castle late night (somewhere around 11pm) to stay in a house in St George's Chapel close with the Organ Scholar, who was a friend. Given that Euston (I was arriving from Lancaster) to Waterloo and Euston to Paddington are effectively the same distance in time terms there must be some reason why I always used the Waterloo route, and have done so ever since. It always felt the better route to me, but there you are. That late at night you would have thought I would have used the most logical overall route.
I sometimes wonder (thanks to the forum) if my antipathy to the Paddington route is tied to an enduring memory of arriving at W and E Central station on a school charter train from Manchester, and we sat outside the chocolate factory at Slough on a blazing hot day awaiting line capacity. You can have too much chocolate smell, even when aged about 8 years old!!

LOL. Is too much chocolate anything possible?

Thanks for the stasher info. Had not heard that term before.