Windsor Castle

I finally went on the Windsor castle tour. As a resident, I get in for free. :o)

The flag was flying away from us, but if you could see it, you would know that the queen is in residence. When she is in, they fly the Royal Standard. When she is away, they fly the Union Jack. It's always nice to know when Her Majesty might pop down to the local pub.

 Thought the windows for the archers was rather cool.

 Not the best photo but the stonework above is St. George slaying the dragon. This is just above one of the entrances to the castles outer ring.

 The inner moat. Absolutely beautiful as a garden now. The tower is to the right and the interesting bit about this part is that the tower has it's own well. Apparently, when the invading armies used to lay siege to a castle, the biggest concern was cutting off food and water supplies. Therefore, build yourself a moat and your own well.

 Not the best picture of St. George's Chapel. It is open to the public for Sunday service where you can go to mass and walk over the grave of many kings.

 Another view of the lower ward's moat. This time with a happy little fountain.

 When the queen is in residence, the guards are marching about at different posts. Here are a few of the beefeaters head off to relieve their mates.

 Across the courtyard, a lone guard patrolling the grounds. I wonder if they ever turn the lawn into a putting green?

 One of the internal courtyards / avenues. I love this view, not exactly something you would see on Main St U.S.A.

 Even old buildings have some modern security. I like the thousand year old stone next to the key pad and security camera.

 Where I grew up, our mail boxes (post boxes) for each house are located at the end of the driveway. The post man gets to stay in their car and deliver the mail without having to walk about or get wet. The downside is that my father has probably had to replace the mail box about 10 times as it has been run over by cars or vandals. Ever see the movie Stand By Me with mail box baseball? Think something like that. Therefore - I liked this picture of the post box built into the castle wall. I'm pretty sure no one will be stealing that one.

Lastly, another view of the internal moat in the lower ward. You can see how the castle is built into the hillside. Too bad I didn't get a photo of the view from the top as you can see the castle has a great view of the surrounding areas (you can see other shots of the castle from photos of the great park). By the way, I just got a new camera for my birthday so look for some better photos and perhaps a redesign of the blog. After three years, I think it is time for a little freshen up, don't you?