Windsor Great Park

To the south of Windsor is The Great Park extending over some 14,000 acres of which 8,000 acres are forest.
  Windsor Great Park is the only Royal Park managed by the Crown Estate Commissioners and it is their duty to maintain its unique character . 

 

   The public areas are predominantly woodland or open grassland. A wide variety of forest trees thrive, including beech, oak, sweet chestnut, birch and conifers although the elms have virtually disappeared through Dutch elm disease in recent years.

The Park is very carefully managed, with an eye for the very distant future, new plantings being undertaken as and when necessary to replace old and diseased trees, which, in the case of the oak especially, can date back 500 years and more. In the 1700s there was a great demand for English oak for the building of naval ships and the older oaks are not nearly as common as they once were, but regular plantings over the centuries, which continues to this day, will ensure that The Great Park will remain an area of outstanding beauty throughout this Millennium.
 Sign-posting in Windsor Great Park is minimal and discreet, which adds to its charm and character!

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 The Cascade, or Waterfall, is also notable. It is close by the A30 main road and constructed from stones brought from Bagshot Heath. They are rumoured to be the remains from a Saxon settlement. From the Cascade a stream runs through a glen and ultimately enters the Thames at Chertsey. By the side of the Cascade, immense stones are arranged to form a cavern known as 'The Robber's Cave'.

 The beautiful Virginia Water, which is a large man-made lake, dates back to1753 and forms a most efficient drainage system for the Park. There is an early reference to drainage of 'the Royal Park at Windsor' in the book 'James Brindley and the Early Engineers', 1864, where Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutch engineer, was engaged to undertake the work. In 1621 he had successfully stemmed a breach in the Thames embankment at Dagenham, and subsequently installed drainage at Hatfield Level, a royal chase on the borders of Yorkshire, at the invitation of James I.

 In 1816-17 some Corinthian pillars of Roman origin, and perhaps 2000 years old, were brought from North Africa. These were a gift to the Prince Regent (later George IV) and had been brought from Lepcis Magna in Tripoli, a Roman town. In 1826-7, following a period of storage in The British Museum, 'The Ruins' were erected by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville so as to suggest the remains of an ancient temple, known as 'The Temple of the Gods'.

 Sir Jeffrey Wyatville was the architect of the handsome bridge over the lake near Blacknest Gate and there are six other bridges.

 Rangers Lodge

The Copper Horse, a statue of George III on horseback, was erected on Snow Hill by his son, George IV and created by Sir Richard Westmacott in the years 1824-1830. The statue is the source of a rumour that the sculptor hanged himself after realising he had forgotten the stirrups! As Sir Richard lived to a ripe old age the story is not founded in truth!

George IV wanted the statue of his father to resemble that of Peter the Great in St Petersburgh, hence the massive base.

 Polo is played most days on Smith's Lawn during the summer. Teams from all over the country, and abroad, even as far as Argentina, compete with their entourage of ponies. Polo ponies are renowned for their agility, and makes for a game of great speed and excitement. The balls are large and heavy, and in the 1950s used to be made from wood although these days they are plastic. The game is divided into time periods known as 'chukkas'. Between chukkas the riders may take a few moments to leave the field and change ponies. In the 1950s the spectators were invited to walk onto the pitch during the intervals to 'tread the divots', saving the groundsmen much work in restoring the surface of the pitch after countless hooves had gouged great holes in the turf. The Queen was often to be seen watching, as was Princess Diana in more recent years. Both Prince Charles and The Duke of Edinburgh were skilled players in their day. Prince William and Prince Harry are also accomplished players today.