Tourways NEWSLINE

From our correspondent

Planning your visit to London arriving early at Heathrow T5 or Gatwick?  Some ideas for sightseeing before the hotel

St George's Chapel Windsor Castle

On arrival at Heathrow or Gatwick airports expect a 40 minute wait for immigration and customs to meet your driver or friends and family in the concourse. Time allowing there is a Costa coffee shop on the same floor at Terminal 5 and a Marks and Spencer should you need flowers or a sandwich or you need to stock up with groceries, wine, water or a bag of nuts. Travel can be a welcome change to  your routine so all the better to plan the next move.

The journey into London will take up to an hour by car  as experienced travellers know so with time and energy on your hands you might like to visit Windsor Castle that's 20 minutes away from Heathrow and  an hour from Gatwick. If you are a small group up to five a take a licenced cab that can drop you off at the entrance to Windsor Castle. If your flight is really early why not have breakfast at The Ivy then wait for entry that starts at !0 am. Tickets can be bought at the office by the entrance but best to buy online in advance. The queuing and security take 15 minutes then expect a short walk to the Lower Ward where the guard change takes place at 1045 when the cohort marches in via the King Henry eighth Gate the band playing. Its essential to go straight there to obtain a front line viewing spot because if you delay the crowd can become up to six deep and your view will be obstructed or at best limited. Take a tip and leave during the ceremony say after 15minutes and walk two minutes to the adjacent St George Chapel a masterpiece built by William Vertue the burial place of kings and queens since the 1400s. Plan for 30-45 minutes. Gift shop in the Cloisters.

The essentials are it was built by Edward fourth to celebrate the rule of the House of York succeeding the House of Lancaster that marked the end of the feud between the two houses through marriage. The War of the Roses as it is known was between Red for Lancaster and White for York and the rose remains the symbol of England. For information the Leek is a national symbol of  Wales also their flag with a dragon and the thistle for Scotland their flag the cross of St Andrew.

The quire  or choir and canopied stalls for the knights were constructed first in 1485 and the chapel followed in 1509. Hundreds of craftsmen were brought in under the supervision of John Trevillian a Cornishman whose work is immortalised in the iron gate and enclosure for the tomb of Edward fourth described as the finest ironwork surviving  from the middle ages. Look up to the vaulted ceiling as you approach the West window  that's your first stop looking out for the beautiful carved bosses with the red and white roses. The next stop is the King George sixth memorial chapel the resting place of the House of Windsor with Queen Elizabeth, sister Margaret and husband Philip. Note the stained glass work of John Piper. 

Walking into the quire you  become suddenly aware of the array of colours from banners and the purpose  as a place of prayer  for the royal family and the Knights of the Garter.This ancient honour was bestowed on those loyal to the crown, high ranking military and foreign royalty. The crowns above the stalls denote royal pews with males displaying swords. Look down to the burial places in tombs in the crypt  of Henry eighth his third wife Jane Seymour and Charles Ist. Its a spectacle to behold in a head turn. 

Come out of the quire and continue to your fourth stop a full length painting of  Edward Ist  known as Longshanks because he was so tall and note his most impressive long sword  on the adjacent wall. The custodians of the Chapel  retain all the deceased knights  swords, banners and coat of arms badges affixed to the back of the pews. Continue and you will see on your left the tomb of  Henry sixth the founder of Eton College and Kings College Cambridge. With five minutes left continue to the East door that was the  West entrance door to the original Lady Chapel built by Henry 3rd  from 1240-1263.  In the fourteen hundreds King Edward 4th founded the Order of the Garter and rededicated the chapel to St George. This East door is bright red with  gold painted ironwork proudly bearing the name of the maker Gilebertus believed to be Gilbert Bonningham a coin maker during the reign of Henry third. Coins from the Royal Mint bear the monarch's head but not the designers name so it could be said that this was Gilbert's way of  making his own mark that's lasted for over 800 years.

Read more on Windsor in our next edition of The Report.