Windsor is famous for being the home of the British Royal Family at Windsor Castle. However there is much more to see and do in Windsor than people realise.
As Windsor is a riverside town there are a number of boat cruises that operate on the River Thames between February and November. The cruises can be between 40 minutes to two hours long and offer a wonderful view of the castle and surrounding area. The Alexandra Gardens next to the river are also very popular when the weather is warm. In the Gardens during the summer, the Windsor Wheel is set up and then taken down in autumn. It is a smaller version of the London Eye where visitors can see superb aerial views of the landscape.
Windsor is also the home of the theme park Legoland. This was built in 1996 on the site where Windsor Safari Park used to be. In the high street, which is right next to the castle, there is a theatre, plenty of restaurants and bars, new and old shops, and a selection of hotels.
The main attraction though is Windsor Castle. It is the largest castle in the world that is still inhabited. It has a 900-year history and dates back as far as William the Conqueror. Along with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Windsor Castle is the official residence of the British Monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends at the castle, which she likes to use for both state and private entertaining.
The town has a very rich history and research has found evidence of an Anglo Saxon settlement in the area. The name ‘Old Windsor’ comes from this era. By the Middle Ages the town was known as New Windsor and was one of the richest towns in the country. This came from its association with the castle and the investment that was put into it. By the Tudor and Stuart periods Windsor Castle was considered too old fashioned. During the 16th and 17th centuries there was a lot of poverty as well. However by the Victorian era the town had seen a change in fortunes. Many European leaders came to visit Queen Victoria, which was the start of the tourism Windsor has become used to.
Windsor Castle famously had a fire in 1992. It began in the Queen’s private chapel after a curtain caught fire from a nearby spotlight. Luckily no one was killed or seriously injured. Some rooms were badly damaged though. It took hundreds of firemen to stop the fire, and save priceless artwork and antique furniture.
Apart from the Queen there are other famous people who have lived in Windsor. Michael Caine lived in the town, as did Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. Ranulph Fiennes was born in the area as well, while singer Natalie Imbruglia still owns a house in Windsor.
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Useful links for more information about Windsor:
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=34
Key vocabulary the article Windsor
Cruises – A trip by boat for tourism and sightseeing.
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Wonderful – Another way to say very good, great or fantastic.
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Surrounding area – Surrounding means going all around something. So, the surrounding area is all the places close to and around a place.
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Set up – In this sentence “is set up” means “is built” or “is put together”.
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Aerial views – Aerial is a adjective that means of the sky or from the sky. Therefore, an aerial view is a view from high up.
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Theme park – An entertainment park such as Disney Land is a theme park.
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Safari Park – A kind of open zoo where visitors drive through the park in a car or bus. Safari parks often have lions and tigers in open spaces, so it seems more natural than a zoo.
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The main attraction – The person, place or thing that most people come to see.
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Inhabited – People live in it.
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Official residence – Your residence is the place where you live. An official residence is the place that you are registered to live.
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Evidence – Something that shows that a thing is true is called evidence.
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Settlement – A place where several people have build houses to live in the place permanently.
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Association – If you have an association with something or somebody you are connected to them in some way.
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Poverty – The state of being poor is called poverty.
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A change in fortunes – A change of luck.
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Chapel – Small church.
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Curtain – The cloth that goes across a window.
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Priceless – So expensive, important or rare that you can’t replace it for a new or different one.
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