Meet at Virginia Water station at 10:35, upon arrival of the 9:54 train from Reading which is due to arrive at 10:31. The walk leader will be on this train, so if the train is delayed then the start of the walk will also be delayed. For those who wish to drive, parking is available at the station where charges apply along with some of the residential backstreets around the station. There is the option to park in the main car park at Virginia Water Lake for a slightly shorter walk of 8 to 9 miles but please note that charges at weekends are £12 for over 4 hours so the former two options may be more preferable.
The walk will begin with some roadside walking taking in the nice houses around Virginia Water before approaching the main visitor centre of Virginia Water Lake. We will then meander around the Lake to the Totem Pole, gifted by the people of Canada to the Queen in 1958 to mark the centenary of British Columbia, where we will briefly pause to look at the Pole’s numerous faces.
We will then wander around the Valley Gardens before heading towards the western edges of Windsor Great Park and join the Three Castles Path, passing the Royal School on the way towards the Deer Park within Windsor Great Park. We will stop at the Copper Statue of King George III at the bottom of the Long Walk for lunch, with a good view of Windsor Castle.
After lunch, we will head through the Deer Park towards Bishopsgate then on to the Savill Gardens Visitor Centre for some tea and cake.
The final section of the walk will pass by the Obelisk Pond before we arrive back at the Totem Pole and retrace our steps to the main visitor centre and back to the station.
Sat Nav (Virginia Water Station): GU25 4FA or 51.4019 -0.5624
Grid Ref (Virginia Water Station): TQ000679