The Long Walk, Windsor
We have friends that live in Hampshire who we try to visit a couple of times every year. In recent years we have made little excursions and stayed somewhere on the way down. 2017 - we went via Stonehenge and Salisbury, last year we stayed over in Bath. This year we decided to have a stop-over in Windsor.
Now, it was always going to be overrun with tourists by the coach load and we'd done the castle yonks ago so this was more about seeing Windsor and Eton and having a good wander around. As per usual Mrs R had found a superb hotel right opposite the castle on the main street. If you've ever been, parking can be a nightmare in Windsor and the hourly charges must go some way to paying for the upkeep of Liz's second, or is it her third home! Anyway, we opted for valet parking right under the hotel - not cheap but proved to be worth every penny in the long run. We arrived just after midday and was surprised to be able to check in right away. So a quick wash and spruce up and out we went.
First things first, a quick wander round the town centre to find our bearings followed by lunch and the tour could start in earnest. First we went to Eton and had a wander round the college grounds before heading back into Windsor. It was pretty hot so we called in at The Two Brewers on Park St. This pub just happens to be at one end of The Long Walk so after suitable refreshments we decided to walk a section!
Now, a little bit of research goes a long way and this road is 2.65 miles each way. I'd googled "what is an average walking pace" and the answer came back at 3.1 miles/hr which works out at 51 mins walking time. Piece of cake I thought... we'll do that in 45... maybe 40 mins I said to Mrs R and so off we set!
51 minutes later after numerous "let's just walk to the next gate", we seemed to have walked the full length to the copper horse statue, but all this is just the prologue to what happened the next morning...
I'd contemplated doing a early morning shoot at the opposite end near the Copper Horse Statue of King George III after I'd seen a fabulous shot by Jerry Fryer here on Flickr. But the thought of an hour's trek way before sunrise didn't float my boat - and after all, this was billed as a relaxing weekend with friends. So back at the hotel, I decided to book a taxi for 5:30am and make the effort. Alarm set for 5:10am and backup for 5:15am; spare batteries charged overnight; everything checked and packed; filters cleaned; clothes laid out near the door so as not to wake Mrs R... what could possibly go wrong!
My taxi arrived right on queue at the rear of the hotel. I dumped my gear on the back seat and got in the front with the driver. Where to he asked? The horse statue at the end of the Long Walk I replied.
It was still relatively dark and I thought to myself, this is going to be good timing on my part. We drove down the road, past the Household Cavalry barracks onto Kings Rd, which runs parallel with The Long Walk. I could see the hint of first light, but more exciting was the low lying mist... if I could just capture a few deer crossing the Walk in the mist, it's going to be fabulous!
First incident - my driver took the first left and stopped where the A308 crosses the Long Walk.
"This isn't the copper horse" I exclaimed!
"You can see it from here" he replied.
"No, I want to shoot FROM the copper horse"... "so sorry, I haven't been this way in such a long time"
So we performed a hasty 180, headed back to the roundabout and along the A332, which more or less runs parallel. All the while it's getting lighter, still plenty of mist can be seen along the Walk - all will be good I assured myself.
Second incident - park entrance barrier locked!
Third incident - next park entrance barrier locked!
All the while, I'm thinking to myself, we've been driving longer that 2.65 miles - where the hell is he taking me! Just at that moment we came to a gatehouse with large double white gates... the sign said No Unauthorised Vehicles Beyond this Point!
Fourth incident - miraculously the gates began to open and without a prompt my taxi driver drove in. The road we were driving along didn't look like the one from yesterday. I was expecting to see a hill with a ruddy great horse on top. We eventually came to a multi directional signpost but the one that said barracks convinced me we were in a place we shouldn't be!!!
"Let's head back" I hastily suggested to my driver "I don't fancy getting arrested here, especially not with a load of camera gear in the early hours of the morning close by a well known Royal couple who value their privacy... do you?"
The drive out of the estate felt a little quicker than the drive in.
"Where to now sir?"
"Take me back to where you first stopped" I dejectedly replied.
"Certainly sir"
And so we headed back to the first crossing point, but not before I made him drive all the way down the Long Walk to the first deer park gates... also prohibited to unauthorised vehicles - including taxis!
"That will be six pounds please sir"... he didn't get a tip!
25 minutes wasted, sunrise happening quicker than I can setup, not in the place I wanted to be... at least nothing else can go wrong now I though. I more or less had the Walk to myself, apart from the odd jogger and dog walker so I setup dead centre in the road and started snapping at the every changing light.
Fifth and last incident - at some point into my shoot I became aware of traffic behind me, funny I thought, nothing should be on this stretch (the odd taxi maybe) only to turn around and see a Park Rangers land rover heading towards me. I quickly moved my gear and tripod to the side to allow it to pass only for it to stop beside me.
The ranger wound the window down and asked "do you have a permit to shoot here?" "No, but I'm on a public right of way" I replied, no sooner as the words left my mouth I thought big mistake!
"You look like a professional with all that gear, and if you're taking photos for commercial use then you need a permit"
"No, I can assure you of that... if you would like proof, I can show you plenty of rubbish shots on my phone if you like"
At that, she laughed
"I was hoping to shoot from the far end near the horse statue, but everywhere is locked" I enquired.
"Yes, we don't start until 6:30am and it's just a question of the route we take to open everywhere... generally all gates are open by 7:30am" she answered.
Fat lot of good it did me, but at least I avoided getting arrested... twice in one morning!