Sights in Berkshire
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Windsor Great Park
Do not miss the beautiful Windsor Great Park for a walk if the weather is good. This 1920-hectare park, where in 1999 Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, had an avenue of ancient trees beheaded because they got in the way of his horse and buggy, extends from behind the castle almost as far as Ascot.
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Reading Abbey
Founded in 1121 by Henry I and consecrated by Thomas Beckett in 1164, this abbey was one of the most influential in medieval England and a popular destination for pilgrims. It once covered most of the town area. Most of the abbey's property was destroyed after its dissolution in 1539 by Henry VIII. Today, the ruins can be seen in the Forbury Gardens.
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Museum of Reading
Explores Reading's history and development from the Iron Age to the present, including a history of the Reading Festival. Contains the only full-size replica of the world-famous Bayeaux tapestry. The Silchester Gallery displays Roman artefacts found at the nearby Calleva Atrebatum site, as well as a collection of photographs documenting the digs.
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Museum of English Rural Life
Farming crafts and the country way of life over the past 150 years are preserved and commemorated here. The fascinating items on display range from wagons and ploughs, smocks and corn dolls to beekeeping, thatching and dairy equipment. Founded in 1951 by the University of Reading, the museum has many interesting archives and photographic collections.
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A
Legoland
Windsor's other great attraction - for those still in short trousers - Legoland, is a crazy world of model masterpieces, live shows, 3-D cinema, white-knuckle rides and tamer activities (drive your own JCB digger anyone?). If you prebook online you save some money (but you need to be able to print out your ticket).
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B
Windsor Castle
The largest and oldest occupied fortress in the world, Windsor Castle is a majestic vision of battlements and towers used for state occasions and as the Queen's weekend retreat.
William the Conqueror first established a royal residence in Windsor in 1070 when he built a motte and bailey here, the only naturally defendable spot in the Thames valley. Since then successive monarchs have rebuilt, remodelled and refurbished the castle complex to create the massive and sumptuous palace that stands here today. Henry II replaced the wooden stockade in 1165 with a stone round tower and built the outer walls to the north, east and south; Charles II gave the state apartments a baroq…
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Savill Garden
The Savill Garden is particularly lovely. Admission changes depending on the time of year.
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Eton College
Cross the bridge over the Thames to Eton and you'll enter another world, one where old-school values and traditions seem to ooze from the very walls. The streets here are surprisingly hushed as you make your way down to the most enduring and illustrious symbol of England's class system, Eton College.
Those who have studied here include 18 prime ministers, countless princes, kings and maharajahs, famous explorers, authors, and economists – among them the Duke of Wellington, Princes William and Harry, George Orwell, Ian Fleming, Aldous Huxley, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and John Maynard Keynes.
Eton is the largest and most famous public (meaning very private) school in England. I…
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