Plan Your Visit
Everything you need to know before you head out: weather, what to pack, the best seasons, and useful links.
Looking for a day plan?
Half-day highlights, full-day explorer, rainy day plan, and weekend escape: all mapped out step by step.
Weather & What to Bring
Weather
Windsor sits in the Thames Valley in Berkshire, in the drier, milder south-east of England, so its weather is gentler than the wet Irish and western British coasts. It has a temperate maritime climate, changeable but rarely extreme, with mild damp winters, warm rather than hot summers, and rain possible in any month but less relentless than further west. The Thames-side setting can bring morning mist and the occasional flood risk after prolonged winter rain, but for a visitor the practical picture is simple: reasonably kind weather by British standards, best from late spring to early autumn.
Packing Checklist
- ✓Waterproof jacket (essential year-round)
- ✓Layers: temperature can change quickly
- ✓Comfortable walking shoes
- ✓Camera: the views are worth it
- ✓Sunscreen: yes, even in United Kingdom
Best Time to Visit
March - May
Great Park and the Long Walk at their best, and the Castle noticeably quieter before the summer season builds. The Savill Garden's magnolias and rhododendrons come through.
Spring is a fine, underrated time in Windsor. The Long Walk and Windsor Great Park are at their best for walking as the blossom and daffodils come through, and the Savill Garden runs its first big show of magnolias and rhododendrons. The Castle and the riverside are appreciably quieter than they will be in a few weeks, so it is a good window for the State Apartments and St George's Chapel without the peak-summer crowds. The Changing of the Guard steps up to its daily spring and summer schedule from April. Pack for changeable weather off the Atlantic systems, but take the lengthening evenings on the river when they come.
June - August
Peak season, and the busiest around Royal Ascot in June. The boats run their fullest timetable and the Guard changes most days; book beds and tables ahead and start the Castle early.
June to August is peak Windsor. Royal Ascot fills the third week of June and the town with it, the Changing of the Guard runs most days through spring and early summer, and the French Brothers boats work their fullest timetable on the Thames. It is the best stretch for the river, the Great Park and a long evening on a riverside terrace, but the Castle and the High Street get genuinely busy from late morning, and accommodation around Ascot week books out well ahead. Start the Castle early, keep Legoland for a full day rather than an afternoon, and treat a warm evening on the water as the reward for a crowded middle of the day.
September - November
A strong shoulder season. The Windsor Festival and Fringe run through September and October, the Great Park turns, and the Castle is calmer as the Guard drops back to three days a week.
Autumn is a rewarding time to have Windsor closer to yourself. The Windsor Festival and the Windsor Fringe run concurrently through September into October, bringing classical music and theatre into the Castle's own venues and the town's halls, and the Great Park and the Long Walk are at their best as the oaks and chestnuts turn. The Changing of the Guard eases back to three days a week from August, and the Castle is calmer than in high summer. The riverside boat season winds down through the autumn, so check the French Brothers timetable, and make the most of the out-of-town gastropubs like The Loch and The Tyne for a long, unhurried lunch.
December - February
Windsor leans into Christmas from November, with an ice rink, markets and the Great Park light trail. The quietest time to see the State Apartments outside the festive fortnight.
Windsor has a genuine winter draw in its Christmas season, which runs from November with an open-air ice rink below the Castle, festive markets, carols on Castle Hill, pantomime at the Theatre Royal, and the illuminated after-dark trail through Windsor Great Park. Legoland runs its own festive event on selected dates. Outside the busy fortnight right around Christmas, this is the quietest time of year to walk the State Apartments and the town, with the Guard reduced to three ceremonies a week and the short days better suited to the Castle, the museums and a warm pub than to a full day in the Great Park. Come for the lights and the fire rather than the river.