Windsor Castle is an Official Residence of Queen Elizabeth II
Windsor Castle is a beautiful and historically significant site and well worth a visit. It's an easy day trip from London or from Heathrow Airport.
Help and Information for Visitors with Disabilities
The website for the Royal Collection (Windsor Castle) provides this phone number for visitors with disabilities: (+44) (0)20 7766 7324. Visitors are encouraged to call in advance to discuss their needs.
Wheelchairs are available for use and may be borrowed at no charge from the castle Visitor Centre. They may not be booked in advance.
How to Get to Windsor Castle By Car
Driving is straightforward. Windsor is easy to find on a road map, just look west of London. The main road west from London is the M4 Motorway, which also serves Heathrow Airport. The drive takes about half an hour from the west part of greater London, depending upon traffic.
For a more scenic drive, the A30 can be a pleasant alternative.
Parking for Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle itself is on top of a hill. This is something that's not obvious on maps. Blue disabled parking badges are respected and there are reserved parking spots with free parking for badge holders.
The public parking, including the handicapped parking spots, is not at grade with the castle. There is an incline involved.
One website with detailed information about Windsor, including parking, is the Royal Windsor Web Site run by Thamesweb. This website gives practical, on-the-spot information, and recommends the King Edward Car Park for visits to the castle.
Travelling to Windsor Castle by Bus, Coach or Train
There is regular bus service from London to Windsor. Tour buses visit Windsor - it's a very popular destination for a day trip by bus. In England, bus trips are often called coach tours. A coach is a bus.
By train, you have two options. The shortest route (22 minutes) is on Great Western from Paddington station but you must change platforms at Slough. The details of accessibility at Slough station are set out in this part of the National Rail website.
The other train departs from Waterloo station and takes 55 minutes, departing every half hour. There are no station changes. The details of accessiblility at Waterloo station are found on the National Rail website.
There are two train stations in Windsor. The Paddington-Slough train takes you to Central Station (Windsor Royal Station), which is a less steep walk up to Windsor Castle than the Windsor and Eton Riverside Station, which has the advantage of being closer but with a steep climb. A taxi may be the best way to get from the station to the castle if the hill is an issue. Once you are at the castle, however, you are on top of the hill and on fairly level ground for the rest of your visit.
From Heathrow
Heathrow Airport is at the west end of greater London. (Not the West End where all the theatres are - that's in what visitors would consider "Central London"). Windsor is further west. So, if you are coming or going from Heathrow, you are closer to Windsor than if you're starting your trip from the centre of London.
From points west of central London
The train services above are the direct services which originate at Paddington and Waterloo. If you happen to be staying to the west of these stations, there may be a local service to Windsor at the time you wish to travel, stopping closer to you. Don't assume that the direct service is the only one, in other words. There may be no need for you to backtrack into London to begin your journey to Windsor.
For persons in wheelchairs, slow walkers, and others with mobility limitations, the Castle is accessible. The greatest obstacle is getting from the parking lot or train station to the Castle. Many other visitors have done it, so don't be put off. The community of Windsor and the Castle have put a lot of effort into helping you with access.
The main challenge to visiting Windsor Castle is that it is on a hill. It is a steep climb from bottom to top. A taxi may be the solution if you do not arrive by car.
In the article "Royal Windsor: Castle and Queen", Suite101's UK travel writer Mike Gerrard gives an introduction to Windsor Castle and the other royal attractions of the Royal Borough of Windsor. From that article and the additional links here, you can find out why Windsor is such a popular and important place to visit. I was bowled over as they say, when I first saw it, and the thrill has not worn off with time.
If you're an overseas visitor to England, Windsor is an excellent day trip from London. It's about 30 miles (about 40 km) west of London.
Useful resources
These web pages were current and working as at the time of writing. Please be sure to check them close to your actual journey in case of changes and updates.
- Travelling to Windsor is a detailed local guide including bus, train, car and taxi information and links to most of the services.
- Parking in Windsor has a map for all Windsor parking and text about disabled parking. If you have a blue badge (called a blue placard in USA, blue badge in UK) from an EU country, it is recognized in the UK. If you have a blue badge from elsewhere, technically it is up to the local police to decide whether to recognize it. Many countries do have reciprocal arrangements to recognize each other's badges or placards. The practical thing to do is bring your badge and use it. If it looks like the UK badge (the white symbol of a person in a wheelchair, against a blue background) you are unlikely to have a problem, but if you have serious concerns you can contact the local police in Windsor.
- Disabled Car Parking lists the publicly-owned car parks in Windsor and Eton where there are reserved free parking spaces. The King Edward car park is NOT included. It is a privately run car park.
- Visitors with Disabilities is a short paragraph within the website of the Royal Residences, indicating that most of Windsor Castle is wheelchair accessible and that there are wheelchairs available to borrow there for on-site use. There is a contact phone number given.
- National Rail Enquiries allows you to search for information about any rail station and to then read the Accessibility features for that station.
- Disabled Facilities in Windsor covers parking and the ShopMobility scheme, which provides wheelchairs and scooters to assist with shopping in Windsor.
- The Royal Windsor Website is a comprehensive local guide to Windsor, from which some of the above pages have been drawn. This website is worth delving into as it is locally produced and rich in detail.
