A Georgia Girl in Germany

On our first full day in England, and after a good night’s rest, we took a morning excursion to the largest inhabited castle in the world -- Windsor Castle. Dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, it’s also the oldest castle that’s been continuously occupied. We actually arrived there before the grounds opened, so had to wait about half an hour until we could go in. While we waited, we saw several people driving into the compound -- I kept wondering who they were (I didn’t recognize anyone), and how closely any of them worked with the Royal Family.

It was a chilly morning, but the kids were good about letting me take their photo with the landmark of the castle -- the Round Tower -- behind them.

We weren’t allowed into the Quadrangle courtyard, so had to look through the southwest gate to view the State Apartments on the other side.

This is the view from the northwest corner of the Quadrangle and the Upper Ward, looking back at the South Wing.

The grounds were well-kept, and looked pretty nice -- especially for late November. I like this view of the Round Tower from across a garden area surrounding the motte.

We even found a drain with MacKenzie’s name on it -- “Mackenzie & Moncur Ltd.” Pretty neat!

We toured inside St. George’s Chapel -- it was stunning. I really liked the Quire inside, which included coats of arms of Knights from the 14th century to the present day. It also had the banner, helm and crest over the stall of each living Knight or Lady.

The kids were also compliant when I asked them to stand beside this guard in the Lower Ward after we walked through St. George’s Chapel.

Just after I took their picture, the guard started marching back and forth beside the wall.

About 10 minutes later, these four guards marched by -- right in front of us, past the King Henry VIII Gate and toward the Round Tower!

Labels: Benjamin, England, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary