Entering the park via Bishopsgate, go straight on for around 50yds (46m), then take the footpath running off diagonally left beside the gravel and sand bridleway. Cross two small footbridges and bear left across a (dry) stream. Cross the bridleway, following the path to the right, then veer right and continue ahead to join the paved road at a plaque commemorating the coronation of King George VI. Follow the road straight on, go past the houses and through Cumberland Gate. You can walk straight across grassy Smith’s Lawn if no polo is in progress; otherwise keep right on the main road. Pass the equestrian Prince Consort’s Statue (dedicated to Albert)on your right, and leave the polo grounds via the southwest corner, by the main road.
Continue downhill, crossing the bridge with Johnson’s Pond, right, and Virginia Water lake, left. Immediately after the bridge veer left to a footpath and go straight ahead, past houses to your left. Rejoin the road at the Five-Arch Bridge (built between 1822 and 1827). Cross the bridge, then immediately take the footpath to the left, following the lakeside, with Blacknest Gate to your right.
Continue along the southern shore of the lake, eventually reaching the ruins of Leptis Magna (on the right) and opposite, on the lakeside, the old Pond Head. Continue to follow the edge of the lake, passing the Cascade before heading north to the Visitor Pavilion by the main car park on the A30. Keep ahead by the lake.
Leaving the lake behind, cross the water again at Wick Pond (look out for unusual ornamental waterfowl such as Mandarin ducks and Egyptian geese) and go on to the Totem Pole, erected in 1858 to mark the centenary of British Columbia. (In spring you may wish to detour left at this point to explore Valley Gardens). Continue straight ahead, veering slightly right to pick up the main paved path. At the next crossroads continue ahead following the sign towards The Saville Garden. Pass the Obelisk Pond to your left, then the Obelisk itself, dedicated to William, Duke of Cumberland, the man largely responsible for transforming the park into what we see today.
Take the red gravel path straight on and over a humpback bridge to cross the northern extremity of the pond. Join a broad, grassy path with the polo grounds to the left. As Cumberland Gate draws close, turn right, following the end of the railings on your right-hand side to join the road. Continue on past The Savill Garden, to your right, and by a clump of giant rhubarb turn left to join the Rhododendron Ride path. This soon passes Cow Pond. Complete with gazebo and Georgian Bridge, this is particularly attractive in summer when covered in coloured water lilies. Continue straight ahead to rejoin the main road, which leads back on the right to Bishopsgate.
The southern half of Windsor Great Park is by far the most popular part of the park for good reason – visitors come on foot, on horseback and on two wheels to enjoy its famous gardens, peaceful ponds, lakeside trail and various eclectic points of interest which range from Classical ruins to a... full-sized 100ft (30m) high totem pole from British Columbia. Summer weekends are best if you want to see the 'sport of kings' played at the famous Guards Polo Club, but beware – this is also when the crowds are at their peak; car parking becomes difficult and walking around the lake can get uncomfortably busy. Around Virginia Water Picturesque Virginia Water lake, some 7 miles (11.3 km) in circumference, dates back to 1753 when it evolved quite prosaically as a drainage system for the Great Park. When created it was the largest man-made lake in Britain. The origin of its name is unclear, though it may be named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. There are two curiosities on its southern shore. The Cascade, or waterfall, is made up of giant rocks said to be the remains of a Saxon settlement brought from nearby Bagshot Heath. Probably even older are the stones near by, from the Roman city of Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya). In the 17th century more than 600 columns from here had been presented to Louis XIV for use in his palaces at Versailles and Paris. In 1816 Britain’s Consul-General in Tripoli persuaded the local Governor that the Prince Regent (later George IV) would also like some of the ruins, and permission was given to remove columns and stones. This outraged the local populace, more from a practical viewpoint than a sense of heritage, as they found the stones useful themselves for building and as mill stones. They sabotaged the British efforts, and many statues and columns were destroyed as they were waiting to be loaded onto the ship – in fact three large columns, intended for shipping, still lie on the beach today. After a spell in the British Museum the Roman remains arrived in the park in 1827, reduced by now to little more than a mish-mash of assorted columns and stones. It fell to Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, architect to George IV, to arrange them, in the manner of a giant Classical jigsaw, into 'a ruined temple'. This folly was just one component of the wider ‘picturesque’ style of landscaping at Virginia Water, reflecting the fashion of the late Georgian period. Other elements, long gone, included two Belvedere viewing towers, a grotto, a China Tea House, a floating Mandarin Yacht, an Oriental-style Fishing Temple on Manor Lodge island and a Hermitage. Only the Cascade and Five-Arch Bridge remain from the park’s ornamental heyday.
Berkshire consists of two distinct parts: the western half, which is predominantly rural, with the Lambourn Downs spilling down to the River Lambourn and the Berkshire Downs to the majestic Thames, and the eastern half of Berkshire, which offers plenty of opportunity to get out and savour open spaces. Reading and Newbury are the county’s major towns, and the River Kennet flows through them both.
Entering the park via Bishopsgate, go straight on for around 50yds (46m), then take the footpath running off diagonally left beside the gravel and sand bridleway. Cross two small footbridges and bear left across a (dry) stream. Cross the bridleway, following the path to the right, then veer right and continue ahead to join the paved road at a plaque commemorating the coronation of King George VI. Follow the road straight on, go past the houses and through Cumberland Gate. You can walk straight across grassy Smith’s Lawn if no polo is in progress; otherwise keep right on the main road. Pass the equestrian Prince Consort’s Statue (dedicated to Albert)on your right, and leave the polo grounds via the southwest corner, by the main road.
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Continue downhill, crossing the bridge with Johnson’s Pond, right, and Virginia Water lake, left. Immediately after the bridge veer left to a footpath and go straight ahead, past houses to your left. Rejoin the road at the Five-Arch Bridge (built between 1822 and 1827). Cross the bridge, then immediately take the footpath to the left, following the lakeside, with Blacknest Gate to your right.
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Continue along the southern shore of the lake, eventually reaching the ruins of Leptis Magna (on the right) and opposite, on the lakeside, the old Pond Head. Continue to follow the edge of the lake, passing the Cascade before heading north to the Visitor Pavilion by the main car park on the A30. Keep ahead by the lake.
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Leaving the lake behind, cross the water again at Wick Pond (look out for unusual ornamental waterfowl such as Mandarin ducks and Egyptian geese) and go on to the Totem Pole, erected in 1858 to mark the centenary of British Columbia. (In spring you may wish to detour left at this point to explore Valley Gardens). Continue straight ahead, veering slightly right to pick up the main paved path. At the next crossroads continue ahead following the sign towards The Saville Garden. Pass the Obelisk Pond to your left, then the Obelisk itself, dedicated to William, Duke of Cumberland, the man largely responsible for transforming the park into what we see today.
4 of 5
Take the red gravel path straight on and over a humpback bridge to cross the northern extremity of the pond. Join a broad, grassy path with the polo grounds to the left. As Cumberland Gate draws close, turn right, following the end of the railings on your right-hand side to join the road. Continue on past The Savill Garden, to your right, and by a clump of giant rhubarb turn left to join the Rhododendron Ride path. This soon passes Cow Pond. Complete with gazebo and Georgian Bridge, this is particularly attractive in summer when covered in coloured water lilies. Continue straight ahead to rejoin the main road, which leads back on the right to Bishopsgate.
The southern half of Windsor Great Park is by far the most popular part of the park for good reason – visitors come on foot, on horseback and on two wheels to enjoy its famous gardens, peaceful ponds, lakeside trail and various eclectic points of interest which range from Classical ruins to a... full-sized 100ft (30m) high totem pole from British Columbia. Summer weekends are best if you want to see the 'sport of kings' played at the famous Guards Polo Club, but beware – this is also when the crowds are at their peak; car parking becomes difficult and walking around the lake can get uncomfortably busy. Around Virginia Water Picturesque Virginia Water lake, some 7 miles (11.3 km) in circumference, dates back to 1753 when it evolved quite prosaically as a drainage system for the Great Park. When created it was the largest man-made lake in Britain. The origin of its name is unclear, though it may be named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. There are two curiosities on its southern shore. The Cascade, or waterfall, is made up of giant rocks said to be the remains of a Saxon settlement brought from nearby Bagshot Heath. Probably even older are the stones near by, from the Roman city of Leptis Magna (in present-day Libya). In the 17th century more than 600 columns from here had been presented to Louis XIV for use in his palaces at Versailles and Paris. In 1816 Britain’s Consul-General in Tripoli persuaded the local Governor that the Prince Regent (later George IV) would also like some of the ruins, and permission was given to remove columns and stones. This outraged the local populace, more from a practical viewpoint than a sense of heritage, as they found the stones useful themselves for building and as mill stones. They sabotaged the British efforts, and many statues and columns were destroyed as they were waiting to be loaded onto the ship – in fact three large columns, intended for shipping, still lie on the beach today. After a spell in the British Museum the Roman remains arrived in the park in 1827, reduced by now to little more than a mish-mash of assorted columns and stones. It fell to Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, architect to George IV, to arrange them, in the manner of a giant Classical jigsaw, into 'a ruined temple'. This folly was just one component of the wider ‘picturesque’ style of landscaping at Virginia Water, reflecting the fashion of the late Georgian period. Other elements, long gone, included two Belvedere viewing towers, a grotto, a China Tea House, a floating Mandarin Yacht, an Oriental-style Fishing Temple on Manor Lodge island and a Hermitage. Only the Cascade and Five-Arch Bridge remain from the park’s ornamental heyday.
Berkshire consists of two distinct parts: the western half, which is predominantly rural, with the Lambourn Downs spilling down to the River Lambourn and the Berkshire Downs to the majestic Thames, and the eastern half of Berkshire, which offers plenty of opportunity to get out and savour open spaces. Reading and Newbury are the county’s major towns, and the River Kennet flows through them both.
