Windsor Castle

To answer your queries:

-I would go to Paddington station
-It's a bit far to walk, if you are in Bloomsbury you can walk to Euston Square station (note this is different from Euston station) and get the Circle or Hammersmith and City line to Paddington
-No, you can use contactless payment to just tap in/out, or buy tickets on your phone, or at the station- no need to purchase in advance
-Unfortunately I'm not sure how strict the time slots at Windsor Castle are!

Good luck with the rest of your planning!

from your other post it seems that you are going to be near Tottenham Court Road tube/Elizabeth station.

You really have you choice then, of Northern Line direct to Waterloo for Windsor & Eton Riverside or Elizabeth Line direct all the way to Slough for the little shuttle train to Windsor & Eton Central.

My preference - others may differ - would be to pop onto an Elizabeth Line train from Tottenham Court Road to Slough, pop over to Platform 1 for the shuttle, sit on the left and get great views of Windsor Castle, then when you get off the shuttle train you just walk out of the station and the Castle is Right Across The Street!!

I would think saving energy for enjoying the Castle area is more valuable than the walk to Waterloo if you choose that route. You don't don't need to walk to Paddington because the Elizabeth Line is right at TCR. You could go to Paddington and catch the Great Western train to Slough, but why bother? So much less hassle using the Elizabeth Line.

It won't do you any good to buy your train tickets to Windsor ahead - these are commuter trains and Advance low priced tickets don't exist.

Use your contactless card on either route.

I have spoken to the booking staff at Windsor Castle. You choose the time period on your ticket, and the ticket is for the beginning of that 30 minutes. You need to try to get there for the beginning of that time, the 30 minutes is "in case something happens to hold you up". They do not expect that you will overrun into the next time slot - that would inconvenience those in that time slot so it is not expected.

My advice to take a previous train, they are every few minutes.

If I use the Elizabeth Line suggestion to get to Windsor Castle, how much time should I allow for the trip from Bloomsbury to the Castle? It does seem a better way to get to Windsor. Do trains runs daily? Do I buy a roundtrip ticket? Would that include the shuttle train from Slough? Is shuttle train a separate cost? I'm trying to figure out what time I should schedule entry to Castle. Thank you.

It's a very busy commuter route, so trains runs frequently every day. You don't need to buy a ticket, just use your contactless card (remember to tap off at Windsor). Allow an hour for the trip to be safe, but it's less than that.

PS - When you tap off you'll be charged the appropriate fare.

Nigel said: “My preference - others may differ - would be to pop onto an Elizabeth Line train from Tottenham Court Road to Slough, pop over to Platform 1 for the shuttle, sit on the left and get great views of Windsor Castle, then when you get off the shuttle train you just walk out of the station and the Castle is Right Across The Street!!”

I concur. I lived in Windsor for half of 2023 and before I discovered the green bus, I did this a lot.

I had a timed ticket last August and just planned to arrive in Windsor about an hour early--time to poke around the streets near the Castle and get a quick coffee before getting in the security line. I chose an 11:30 entry as that suited my needs, and I had also booked a ticket to tour the kitchens, so based on my 11:30 entry the website suggested 12:30 for that--it all worked perfectly. I researched all transit options and took the Elizabeth Line, changing at Slough (lots of people will be doing this and there are people to direct you if need be) for the 10 minute at most shuttle to Windsor. Don't get frazzled and forget to tap out once at Windsor!

I would have loved to have also included the kitchen tour but after looking at Windsor Castle website, it states that tour is no longer available. Also noticed that semi-state rooms will also be closed until autumn 2025. I will be in London in August, so I'll also miss seeing them but I'm sure there will be other things to see. With the hefty entrance fee, I hope that will be the case. Again, thank you everyone for your suggestions.

"With the hefty entrance fee, I hope that will be the case."

Definitely- you'll still see the state apartments, Queen Mary's dolls house and St George's Chapel. The castle is closed to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and St George's Chapel is closed to visitors on Sundays (open for worship only). It's worth checking closer to your dates in case of closures due to official visits and state events.

It's definitely worth the trip.