# 🥾 Walk 709 - Windsor Great Park

On Sunday 4th May, twenty-five of us assembled at the end of Ridgemead Road, Englefield Green for a 5¼ mile walk through the south-east corner of Windsor Great Park. We set off along Crimp Hill and joined Bishopsgate Road, which took us into the park through the Bishop's Gate gatehouse.

We headed west and then south, passing Smith's Lawn, where there were a few horsemen practicing for polo. We stopped for a look at the equestrian statue of Prince Albert.

![Stopping to look at the Prince Consort Statue.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume52/images/prince-consort-statue.jpg)

Leaving the polo grounds, we continued south-easterly to the Valley Gardens. We stopped for a comfort-break at the public toilets in the gardens before heading to the rhododendron garden, hidden in woodland by Virginia Water.

Kathy, our leader, had chosen the date of this walk very carefully, and all of the plants were in flower. There was an amazing show of different colours in this wonderful (and highly seasonal) garden.

![Passing through the Rhododendron Garden.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume52/images/rhododendron-garden1.jpg)

Having circumnavigated the rhododendron garden, we continued eastward through the Valley Gardens and out into more open land. Our next stop was the Totem Pole, which was given to the late Queen Elizabeth in 1958 by the people of Canada to celebrate 100 years since the proclamation of British Columbia as a crown colony.

Now heading north, we approached the Cumberland Obelisk and pond near the Savill Gardens. Skirting the pond and passing the obelisk, we stopped at the entrance to the Savill Gardens. Here we stopped to eat our packed lunches.

![Posing for a photo in the Rhododendron Garden.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume52/images/rhododendron-garden2.jpg)

After lunch, we followed a track called Rhododendron Ride northward through Chapel Wood. We passed the edge of the Savill Gardens and the Cow Pond before reaching the Bishop's Gate gatehouse, where we'd first entered the park.

The last leg of the walk was to retrace our outward route from Ridgemead Road. Although this was a short walk, it certainly packed in lots of interesting things to see.

![The 100 foot high Totem Pole, given by the people of Canada.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume52/images/windsor-totempole.jpg)

![The Cumberland Obelisk, sitting behind Obelisk Pond.](https://www.berksww.org.uk/scrapbooks/volume52/images/cumberland-obelisk.jpg)

*Thanks go to Kathy for leading this walk and Rob for the write-up.*

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