When it comes to venue hire, Windsor has a lot to offer. This is one of England’s most historic towns, next to the River Thames, close by the water meadows at Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed, and overseen by Windsor Castle – an official residence of the British monarch and the largest and longest-occupied castle in Europe.
And yet Windsor is only a little over 20 miles from central London and surrounded by excellent national and international transport links. There are plenty of options for how to get to Windsor from London, and that applies to those coming from elsewhere as well – whether by rail, road, or air, it’s easy to get to Windsor.
In this blog we will outline how to get to Windsor from London by various methods and routes, as well as considering travel for visitors to Cumberland Lodge from other parts of the United Kingdom or the world.
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Getting to Windsor by train
Can you get a train to Windsor? Yes, you certainly can. Windsor itself has two stations – Windsor & Eton Central and Windsor & Eton Riverside. Both are situated in the centre of town and almost directly next to the castle, a five-minute walk from each other. They are just under five miles across the Great Park from Cumberland Lodge, which is usually covered in under 15 minutes by taxi or ride-share; the drive is an excellent opportunity to see the beautiful surroundings of the Park and Cumberland Lodge.
The Central station is served by Great Western Railway trains from Slough, which can be reached by westbound trains out of London Paddington and eastbound trains heading from Bristol, Wales, the Midlands and other destinations. Getting to Windsor by train from Paddington can take as little as 28 minutes. The Elizabeth Line also has a station at Slough, where users can change trains to Windsor. This is probably the best way to get to Windsor for travellers from eastern and central London, as well as from London Heathrow airport, the Line’s western terminus.
Regarding how to get to Windsor from London, Windsor & Eton Riverside is served by frequent direct South Western Railway trains from London Waterloo, the terminus for most rail services in southwest London, central southern England and large parts of the West Country. Waterloo is also well-served by the London Underground for visitors coming into London from further afield. Trains usually depart every half an hour, taking just under an hour to get to Windsor.
Because Cumberland Lodge itself is on the other side of Windsor Great Park from the town of Windsor, our closest railway station is actually Egham, served by South Western Railway trains on the line between Waterloo and Reading. It is about 3.5 miles from Cumberland Lodge by road, with a drive of just over 10 minutes. Trains run roughly every 15 minutes and the journey from Waterloo takes around 40 minutes. Visitors arriving by rail from the Midlands and the north of the UK may find it easier to travel to Reading and change to a train to Egham than going into central London and out again.
Getting to Windsor by air
London Heathrow airport is just over 10 miles from Windsor. This is the airport with the most international connections of any in the world, the fourth busiest airport in the world and the main operational hub for British Airways. In all, Heathrow is served by over 80 airlines flying to over 220 destinations around the world. Many of these flights will give you a great view of Windsor, the castle and the Great Park on take-off or landing!
We’ve already mentioned some of the rail connections between Heathrow and Windsor – trains take about 45 minutes between the airport and the stations in the town centre. Buses take under an hour and a car or taxi takes about 25 minutes – it’s a similar time to get from Heathrow to Cumberland Lodge itself.
This puts Cumberland Lodge within a few hours of travel time from many places in northern Europe, as well as being easily accessible from Scotland or Ireland.