There are lots of flights that connect through Heathrow Airport in London. Oftentimes, flights can have a long layover, and visitors can leave the airport to explore London. One time, I had a 9-hour layover in London with enough time to head to Windsor Castle. Thus, a layover to Windsor Castle makes for a great time to explore the area.
Another time, I had an overnight layover, during which I was able to explore Central London for a few hours. Although there are plenty of day trips you can take from London, Windsor Castle makes for a great one due to its proximity to Heathrow Airport.
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Our Layover to Windsor Castle
My husband and I arrived at London Heathrow Airport around 10 am. It took over an hour to get through the UK border patrol and customs. Now, getting through customs is much faster thanks to the United States being able to use the quick service gates. All you have to do is scan your passport and go! Our next flight did not depart from London until 6:45 pm. We had about 9-hours in between our flight. Therefore, we had enough time to go out and explore and headed to Windsor Castle.
Windsor Castle is the summer residence of the Monarch. There are various rooms to explore as well as the grounds of the estate during a layover to Windsor Castle. Teacher tip: buy your tickets online or at the information counter at the Heathrow Airport. This will save you A LOT of time. When we arrived at Windsor Castle, the line just to buy tickets was wrapped around the castle. If you have pre-bought your tickets, you are able to go in a separate much faster line to scan your tickets and head inside.
Rather than carry our bags around Windsor Castle with us, we opted to store our bags in the terminal. Every terminal in Heathrow has a baggage storage called Excess Baggage. We dropped them off at the Excess Baggage in the terminal 2, where we would later depart from. That way, we would not have to head back to a different terminal than what we were departing from.
How to get to Windsor Castle
It is very easy to do a layover to Windsor Castle. By car, Windsor Castle is a 20-minute drive. The easiest but most expensive way to get there is to catch a taxi or an Uber. We instead opted to take the bus which is a little slower, but much more cost effective.
To catch the bus, travelers first need to head to Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. From there you can catch the various buses to Windsor Castle. A free train connects the terminals. There are several blue machines that will provide you with a free ticket. They are clearly marked in the station. Once you get your free ticket, you can head on the next train that comes in.
Once you arrive at terminal 5, head outside to where the buses are located. From there, go to station 7. It is pretty clearly marked. This is where you can catch one of several buses that will take you to Windsor Castle. The first bus that arrived was bus 10, so that was the bus we took. We lucked out and saw this was a newer route.
The bus 10 route only takes 30 minutes to reach Windsor Castle! Make sure to buy a return ticket (£6.50) as it is more cost effective and you do not have to worry about buying another ticket back. Windsor Castle is the end of the line before the bus loops back to the airport. You will see Windsor Castle at the stop.
What to do in Windsor
During your layover to Windsor Castle, you will want to grab some food. Since we were so hungry, we made a quick stop at a pub for some pints and food before heading towards the castle. There are a ton of restaurants in the area, so we just picked one that looked good.
Since we had pre-booked our tickets at the airport, we bypassed the very long line. Inside, there is a route visitors can follow to your the different rooms. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the castle and then another hour wandering around Windsor before it was time to head back to the airport.
To head back, we went back to the same bus stop. This time bus 703 arrived first. This bus was not as fast as bus 10 as it took about 40 minutes to get us back to Heathrow Terminal 5.
According to google maps, you could also take bus 490 to the Feltham Tube stop. From there, you could take the tube to the Windsor and Eton Riverside stop. Once out of the tube station, it is a short walk to Windsor Castle.
Overall, I felt that this excursion made a nice getaway from the airport on a long layover. It did not take too much time to get from the airport to Windsor, especially if you caught the fast bus. It was nice to check something new off the list.
Tips for Visiting Windsor Castle on a Layover
- Make sure to plan in advance.
- Check the operating hours before you leave to ensure the Castle will be open when you visit.
- Buy your ticket online or at the airport.
- Allow for extra time to get back in case something happens with the bus.
- Make sure you are back at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to leave.
1 thought on “An Easy 9-hour Layover to Windsor Castle from London Heathrow Airport”
Thanks for the tip!