After leaving Highclere we then drove on to the town of Windsor where conviently, we were able to park in a parking station attached to the Royal Windsor Shopping Centre, adjacent to Windsor Castle. What a bonus! We had a quick snack lunch at a cafe on Windsor Station plaza before heading off to explore the massive Windsor Castle where Prince Harry married Megen Mercle, recently.
Windsor Castle is one of Queen Elizabeth ll's favoured residences. It was built after the Norman Invasion by William the Conquer, and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe.
We enjoyed walking through the streets outside the palace fortress walls and were impressed by the number of colourful floral displays that the local council provides on the footpaths, around statues, from hanging baskets on lamps stands and on the quaint Georgian shops, pubs and other buildings. After the greyness of winter these bright and beautiful displays of spring and summer blooms provide a positive welcoming atmosphere and a happy vive in the towns and around London. 
We entered Windsor by walking through the courtyard gate and before us stood the impressive stone round tower that we'd seen rising above the castle walls long before we entered the courtyard. Windsor Castle as it stands today is the result of almost a thousand years of development, by four monarchs in particular who have left their mark: William the Conquerer who initiated and established its outline plan and extent in 1070; Edward lll (1327-1377), who transformed Windsor from a military fortification into a magnificent Gothic style palace and established the royal apartments; Charles ll (1660-1685), who transformed this area of the medieval castle into a Baroque palace; and George lV, who restored the exterior the exterior to resemble the romantic ideals of castle architecture and created sumptuous and richly furnished palace interiors within its ancient walls. Just as our lodge in Canberra has under gone change with each change of government so too has Windsor. It has been updated with modern plumbing, kitchen and bathroom facilities, computerised safety and security and communication devices over the decades and programs of repairs, maintenance and restoration are carried out each year so that the integrity of Windsor Castle is maintained for future generations. 
In 1992 an extensive fire broke out in a section of the State Apartment rooms of the castle. It is thought to have started when a spotlight caused plush velvet curtains to combust and the fire quickly spread through the ancient wood timbers of the ceilings. The Duke of Edenbugh, chaired the Restoration Committee who oversaw the project as a whole. They not only restored the several areas to their former glory, but Prince Phillip also suggested linking a small chapel to the rest of the apartment rooms which has made the tours of the royal apartments flow more easily today. The repair and reconstruction took 5 years and the costs of 37 million pounds were largely met from the proceeds of admissions to the Castle precincts and to Buckingham Palace which was open to the public for the first time in 1993. This reconstruction brought many benefits. Much more is now known about the early history of the Castle as the result of extensive archaeological work by English Heritage, and although the maintence work is never-ending, the Castle is now in better shape than at any time for the last 200 years.
We had an audio-guide as we toured the State Apartments but once again we were not permitted to take any photographs of any rooms within the castle but we bought a souvenir guide book which shows many of the rooms we were amazed at. You may be able to visit a Windsor web cite and see these as well. We were spell-bound as we entered each room which were huge in size. Each room was elaborately decorated in its own sumptuous style. The extremely high ceilings were either decorated with paintings or family crests or elaborate gilded plaster casts or carved timber inlays. We found ourselves always firstly looking up to view what new ceiling decoration was on display as we moved through the Apartment rooms. These elaborate rooms also featured plush or tartan carpets, timber panelled or embossed-silk wall coverings, large marble fire places, antique furniture and original paintings. The ceremonial and dining rooms used by the Queen to entertain visiting Heads of State were impressive. We took the photographs that we have included in this blog from pages in the souvenir guide book we bought so do enjoy them and note the gold on the ceilings and the plush furnishings in the palace rooms. More than 160 people live within the precincts of Windor Castle, including the Constable and Govenor, the Dean and Canons of the College of St. George,and the Military Knights. Over 200 people working he Castle,among them maintenance staff, housekeepers, porters, a clockmaker, grooms,coachmen, furniture restorers, gardeners, choristers, police, soldiers, librarians, bookbinders, curators, archivists, tour staff and sentry guards to name a few.
Speaking of the sentury guards it was over 30C today and we saw sentury guards dressed in their red woollen uniforms and heavy fur headgear and they didn't blink or sweat in the heat- we did both. Do you think they each may have had a frozen ice pack under those black furry helmets?
Later we visited the 15th century St. George's Chapel which is within the grounds of Windsor Castle and is where the royal wedding took place recently. It is a remarkable building which has three chapel sections within its walls and several side memorial chapels. Previous rulers like Henry VIII are interned in various Royal memorials chapels or sealed vaults. King George VI, the Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother are entombed in the same Royal memorial chapel. Edward lV initiated the plan for this building in 1475 and the east end (choir) was completed in 1484. Herby Vll added the magnificent stone fan vaulted ceiling which we saw today and under Henry VIII, St. Geoge'sChapel was finally completed in 1528. it has to be seen to fully appreciate its design, height, large tall windows, intricate wood panelling, soaring, graceful and elegant pillars and its splendid ornate vaulted fan ceiling.
After our full day of touring the countryside, we reluctantly returned our Mercedes rental and to top off our day of touting we decided to catch a train back towards the ship dock area. Unbeknown to us the station beside the car rental was only 2 stops from our destination but the ticket machine was out of order but fortunately there was a 'help button' on the platform and we were able to ask about paying for a ticket and the timetable. Many trains passed through this station and we had to wait 45 minutes for one to stop in the heat of at least 30C late in the afternoon - so not expected in Britain. when the train arrived it was very modern, with bright red seat coverings and air-conditioning to revive us. The conductor had been informed ahead of us by the 'help person' that we had no tickets so we were able to pay for them on the train and avoided a possible 20 pound fine for each of the four of us- "ahh modern technology saves the day again".
By now it was about 7.30pm but the sun had not yet set but shadows were lengthening as we headed for the ship - sunset in summer in Britain is about 8pm. We spent the rest of our walk back to the ship wandering through the medieval parts streets of Southhampton where we saw centuries-old, semi-attached stone houses built, around the cobbled streets near the port. We came across monuments, and quaint pubs built at least 300 years ago. We planned to have a bangers-and-mash meal in an old pub, before boarding the ship because no one does this menu better than the British. However, we tried several pubs only to be told the cooks had finished for the night or that the venue was not taking anymore customers as they were " run off their feet" with orders. So sadly, we had to head for a late meal back on board our ship and we have taken a "rain" (once an appropriate term for England) check on our bangers-and-mash for another time. We were also surprised to learn that in 1600 the Mayfair sailed from Southhampton with 102 Pilgrim believers who were leaving England to settle in Plymouth, New England ( in America today) because of religious persecution. We learned this from a plaque on a monument erected to acknowledge this remarkable, sea-voyage pilgrimage which left these shores on 16th September, 1600.