Riding in the Royal Gardens – How to Ride at Windsor Great Park
Winsor Castle is perched upon a hill overlooking the River Thames, and has been a royal residence for centuries. It’s is a magnificent building, but outside those imposing walls lies something that equestrians will really go crazy over – the expansive Windsor Great Park.
If you’re an American, like me, Windsor is only vaguely known, just a place in England. I knew it existed, but I knew very little about it. I try to be somewhat cultured, continually drinking tea with my pinky extended, but it’s hard to keep up with everything on the entire planet. But, I had an awakening the immediately turned my attention here.
I saw a video. It was a woman riding her horse, so we’re already off to a good start, but rode up to a gate, pressed a button, and it opened for her. Inside were fields, forests, and bridges, all with a dedicated, manicured horse path with actual footing. It was literally magnificent, I’d never seen such a trail. It was Windsor Great Park, of Windsor Castle, and it was one of the most fantastic trails I’ve ever seen.
Immediately I had to look up how I can ride there.
From Royal Hunting Grounds to Public Haven:
Windsor was first established when William the Conqueror thought it looked like a pretty neat place to have a massive castle. It was up on a hill, had a river nearby, and had a huge hunting ground right next to it. He begin building in 1070 and it took 16 years to complete the castle.
The castle has its own history, but let’s just focus on the hunting grounds.
At first, the area near the castle was the private land, just for the king. But over time, hunting grew less important, and the monarchs in the castle decided they’d rather see pretty trees around. They begin making various changes to the land.
Charles II was inspired by the Palace of Versailles to create The Long Walk. A Royal Lodge was build. Gardens and lakes were installed. Statues and an obelisk were put up. Along the way, they considered, do any of these things in the forest exist if no one sees them? so the park was opened to the public, reassuring the royals that yes, indeed they did exist.
Now, most of the park is open for the general public for free. Walkers, hikers, bikers, and their small offspring are all allowed to use the park and have many amenities available for them to use.
Horseback riders however, do have to pay, and we’ll get into that in a moment.
The Trail
With 4,800 acres of land, there’s a huge amount of trail to explore. Not all of it is dedicated horse trails of course, there are some limits to what you can do, but chances are, you won’t ever be bored. Check out the expansive horse trails on this overly detailed, confusing map.
Along your route, you’ll pass by some points of interest. I personally enjoy experiences much more when I know the background on them, so here’s a list of some of the interesting places you’ll see on your ride.
The Long Walk
Arguably the most famous area of Windsor Great Park, the Long Walk should not be missed (pictured above, there’s only so many times I want to post a similar image). This 2.64 mile stretch of land goes from Snow Hill to Windsor Castle. The horse trail intersects it at the start of the road to Windsor Castle. Make sure to get some photos of you with the (distant) castle in the background! They are a huge hit on “between the ears” groups.
The deer park is directly next to this. During the fall, you might hear the stags roaring and defending their territory, hopefully just against other stags, and not you.
The Golden Jubilee Statue
Located on one end of Queen Anne’s Ride, a 2 mile avenue of trees, is the Golden Jubilee Statue. It was sculpted in 2002 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 50’s anniversary of her accession. The Queen was an avid equestrian, so naturally, she is upon a horse.
Smith’s Lawn
From April to September, regular games of polo are happening here. This area is directly next to an area of trail, so you’ll get a view of the activity, if you have some good binoculars and if they are playing that day, but you could still look at the empty field through binoculars. This field is home to the Guards Polo Club, which is the largest in Europe. It was founded by Prince Philip in 1955, and he held the role of President until his death in 2021.
Virginia Water
What started as a small pond, grew into a lake with 40 years of labor. A dam was built to fill the valley with water, and only broke apart once to destroy people’s lives and cause massive damage.
The trails will lead you to bridges over the Virginia Water lake. A beautiful lake, with Roman ruins nearby. Plus, a Harry Potter filming spot!
How to Ride at Windsor Great Park
Now that you have the background, how do you actually get to experience a ride there?
You have two options – bring your own horse (challenging for multiple reasons), or to use one of the stables that has a contract with the park. Let’s go over the details.
Bring Your Own Horse – The Challenging Way
If you like a challenge, this could be the option for you. The main issue is you’re going to need your own horse, which is definitely going to cause a problem for tourists who don’t usually travel with a spare horse. If you do regularly travel with your own horse, that’s incredible, and we need to talk because you sound amazing. But most of us just don’t have that kind of capability to bring our horses traveling.
But, even if you do have your own horse, you’re faced with a second challenge – you have to have a membership to ride there, and they are full with a waitlist. Who knows how long it takes to get that membership, I’m sure it’s in high demand.
Both of these together create a formidable challenge to riding there, which is why the second option is going to be better for most people. (Except those that live right near the park with their own horse, you keep fighting to get your membership!)
Guided Ride
If you’re physically unable to carry your horse into a foreign country, or if you’re waiting on that membership list, you have another option. Another, different kind of challenge, would be to find someone who both has a horse and a membership, and convince them to let you borrow their horse. Which leads to the most likely solution – renting a horse. Luckily all you need is money to convince them, though.
There are two stables that have ongoing relationships with the park and offer this service (there may be more stable options, but they don’t have a partnership with the park.)
Tally Ho Stables
Tally Ho Stables offers guided rides around the park, with walking on calm, well trained horses for beginners to cantering for experienced riders. They will arrange private groups so you can get the experience you want, and they’ll even stop at a pub for a drink! Check out their reviews here.
Wayside Stables
Wayside Stables provides guided trail rides around the park, with a couple of different timing options. Private rides are available as well.
For equestrians who love trails and hacking out, riding at Windsor Great Park is a dream come true. With the open fields, manicured paths and woods, I can’t think of a more specialized, horse friendly trail to ride on. Although it can be a tricky thing to make happen, due to the international travel and all, if you are ever near London, or can make the trip, make time to ride in Windsor Park. It’s a unique experience that you won’t regret.
Add this one to your bucket list, and happy trails!