Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park lies south of Windsor in Berkshire, a royal estate of more than two thousand hectares once used for hunting by Windsor Castle. The park borders Home Park near the castle and contains ancient deer lawns, woods and ponds fed by the Battle Bourne stream. Ancient oaks dominate the landscape, including King Offa’s Oak, thought to be 1,300 to 1,500 years old. The park has national importance for wildlife and fungi, with over a thousand species recorded and several found nowhere else in Britain. It is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Crown Estate manages the land, though the monarch retains a non-executive role. For centuries the park supplied deer, timber and fish to the castle, and later became a setting for royal gardens and monuments. Visitors walk the Long Walk, a tree-lined avenue from Snow Hill to the castle gates. Virginia Water, a large ornamental lake, has ponds, a waterfall and Roman ruins imported in the 18th century. The park also includes the Royal Lodge, Cumberland Lodge and the Village built in the 1930s for estate workers. Gates such as Queen Anne’s and Cranbourne lead into varied terrain of hills, coverts and meadows.