Windsor and Eaton

Our first trip to the outskirts of London was to Windsor that still has the status of the Royal residence. The huge 11th century castle standing on the top of the hill above the Tames river is the first to be noticed when you arrive to the train station. High massive impregnable walls of this medieval castle seems to be deserted but when you walk inside there are many big and little dwelling houses, park and flower beds that are carefully taken care of, cheerful view from inside into the town at the bottom of the castle hill and lots of tourists. The sky was perfect blue and outlines of the castle battlements looked sharper and clearer, even more unassailable from outside, but while within charmed us with the large windows decoration, gothic ornaments of the walls and bright greenery around.

Windsor Castle

The most interesting in the castle are the interiors of the royal palace that has preserved some medieval atmosphere of the main halls and some of the other times when they were redesigned. When you look at the castle outside it's hard to imagine that someone had really lived within these cold, dark walls, but when you see it inside it looks quite cozy and light.

Windsor Castle

The surrounding area of the castle is very picturesque and in certain places rural, that adds to the quietness and restful atmosphere of the residence. Near the castle walls at he bottom of the hill there is a small, lovely town with neat red brick houses standing wall to wall along the main streets. Now most of them along the central street leading to the Windsor castle house souvenir shops, cafes, pubs or restaurants in the ground floor, but the main part of them is still inhabited and decorated with beautiful blossoming flowers.

Swans

After visiting the castle grounds and having lunch we went down to the river. Blinding sun reflected in the sparkling waters of the Thames river seemed not to bother dozens of fine white swans at the river bank that were waiting for people to give them food. When we went down the river with the little cruise we felt like there is no better place to spend this gorgeous day then in the countryside. There were green loans and peaceful fields on the sides of the river with people swimming, fishing, children playing near houses at the river bank, yachts and locks, little side streams and isolated islands, in a distance — views of the castle hill headed with grey crown of merlons on the right side and roof picks of the Eaton colleges on the left side. It all reminded me a lot of the trip that three men took on the boat with their dog — a novel by Jerom K. Jerom with its great sense of humor and the poetic pictures of the Tames river landscapes.

From the place the boat brought us back to it's just to cross a bridge and you come to a different town — Eaton. Probably the border of these two towns is one of the prettiest views by itself — river slowly flows down to the horizon where sun sets at the fields, swans come to beg for food from couples that dine on the open terraces right along the embankment at the water.

Eaton Embankment

On the other side of the river another little town Eaton starts. For us this name means one of the oldest and most prestigious private schools in England, former aristocratic center of education, one of the most expensive places to study still. It's always a mystery — what happens behind these walls that look similar to the other ones but make them so special and famous. Strolling around this small but very neat town we tried to guess what sort of life is hidden behind its clean, pretty, old looking facades, what kind of ancient wisdom is inherited here by young minds, what relationships and life stories happen in different buildings of the school, how many famous people of the future study here now.

Eaton

But whatever we thought of we couldn't see any witnesses of our guess-work as the college and town itself seemed to be deserted for summer holidays — empty streets, closed doors of school buildings, uninhabited dormitories, vacant soccer field and lonely vast loan where only cheerful rays of setting sun play with the old high-roofed dwellings and wind flirts with the beautiful trees.

We came back to the river when it was dark already and were charmed with a difference in the picture we saw: myriad of restaurant lights glittering at the surface of the deep waters spread warmth of comfort in the air around.

Eaton Embankment At Night

We left this place with a nice feeling of peace and coziness knowing that one day we'll definitely come back here again.

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