Visiting Windsor Great Park

Updated: 23 September

Guidance for visitors to Windsor Great Park

Your safety, the safety of our staff and other Park visitors is our utmost priority, so please maintain social distancing at all times, staying at least two metres from people outside of your household. When meeting family and/or friends you do not live with, or have formed a support bubble with, you must not meet in a group of more than six (6), indoors or outdoors. Before visiting please familiarise yourselves with the latest Government guidelines. Please also refer to the guidelines about meeting others safely.

Before you leave home

Check our visitor updates
Don't forget your secure face covering which must be worn in all indoor locations whilst moving around
If you are visiting The Savill Garden and are not a Member of Windsor Great Park or Friend of The Savill Garden, please pre-book your tickets here
Please come prepared to take your rubbish home with you

Please note - there may be occasions where our team will ask you to move on if an area is becoming too crowded. Please respect their request.

The Savill Building

The Gift Shop, Plant Centre and toilets at The Savill Building are open. On busier days you may need to queue.

The Savill Garden

The Savill Garden is open for Friends and Members as well as a limited number of pre-booked tickets.

The children's play area - Obelisk Lawn

This area will remain closed.

Virginia Water Pavilion

The Pavilion is currently closed for improvement works. Please follow the signs for the temporary entrance
Temporary toilet facilities are available at Virginia Water lake on weekdays from 8am - 6pm and weekends from 8am to 7pm

Car parks

Firstly, try The Savill Garden car park at TW20 0UJ. Other areas of the Great Park are within easy reach of this car park.

The following are also open:

Virginia Water
Virginia Water South
Wick Road is open to Members only
Ranger's Gate and Cranbourne Gate

The car park at The Valley Gardens remains closed.

More information about car parking can be found here.

Cycling in Windsor Great Park

Always cycle slowly, considerately and two metres apart
Only cycle on metalled roads
Cycles and scooters are not permitted in The Deer Park and on The Long Walk, ridden or otherwise, with the exception of pre-school aged children

More information about cycling can be found here.

Catering facilities in Windsor Great Park

The Savill Garden Kitchen is open with a reduced menu. The terrace is open from 9am - 11am for teas, coffees and pastries and then the lunch menu is available from 11.30am - 4pm.

During this time whilst we are operating a reduced service, we want to ensure that as many of our Visitors, Friends and Members are able to enjoy the restaurant facilities. Your table occupancy for dining is limited to one (1) hour with no return within two (2) hours. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

The following reduced take-away catering will be available:

The Potting Shed at The Savill Building from 9am - 6pm
Obelisk Lawn from 9am - 5pm
The Totem Pole – ice cream van
The Valley Gardens
Blacknest Gate

We are constantly reviewing the situation and should Government advice change, or public safety be compromised, we will not hesitate to impose further closures or restrictions.

The Rangers

The primary responsibility of the Ranger is to oversee the protection and maintenance of Windsor Great Park – to ensure it continues to be enjoyed by generations to come.

The Ranger of Windsor Great Park is often a member of the Royal family, and this role is currently held by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who has been Ranger since 1952. For more information about HRH The Duke of Edinburgh please visit his profile page.

The current Ranger has taken an active role in overseeing many developments during his office, including the reintroduction of our Red Deer into the Deer Park in 1979 and the development of The Savill Building and Virginia Water Pavilion.

The History of the Rangers of Windsor Great Park

In the mid 1600s, a property called Byfield House was built within Windsor Great Park to house the Ranger – who at the time was Baptist May – and this is now known today as Cumberland Lodge. Then in 1766 Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, became the first Ranger to live in Lower Lodge, now known as the Royal Lodge – which became the home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother until her death in 2002.

One of the most notable rangers of Windsor Great Park was William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who held the position from 1746 to 1766. With the desire for a more natural and picturesque landscape, he set about creating Virginia Water - the largest man-made lake of its time in Britain - assisted by architects Henry Flitcroft and John Vardy. Today, the towering Cumberland Obelisk on Obelisk Lawn celebrates the inspiring work of the Duke of Cumberland in his time as Ranger of Windsor Great Park.

King George IV also held the role of Ranger, both as Regent and King, from 1815 to 1830. During this time he recruited the help of the architect Sir Jeffry Wyatville to introduce new features to the Virginia Water landscape – most notably Five Arch Bridge, from where you can look out across the lake towards the same views that King George IV enjoyed. During this time he made other important additions to the Great Park, including the folly of the Leptis Magna Roman Ruins and the iconic Copper Horse statue, erected at the Long Walk as a tribute to his father, George III.

Both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, held the post of Ranger – from 1837 to 1841 and from 1841 to 1861 respectively. Prince Albert especially had a significant impact on Windsor Great Park - committing himself to improving the living conditions of Estate workers, building cottages and establishing the Royal School, so that Estate children could benefit from a thorough education. An equestrian statue commemorating his outstanding contributions to the Great Park can be seen near Smith’s Lawn.

Under the patronage of King George VI, who was Ranger from 1936 to 1952, Sir Eric Savill created The Savill Garden and The Valley Gardens – two of the most important developments within the Great Park in the 20th Century. Then one of the most recent additions to Windsor Great Park has been Ranger’s Avenue, a row of young native oaks which was created at the same time as the restoration of Cow Pond and runs from the pond towards Cumberland Lodge. This was planted in 2012 in honour of the current Ranger, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

The Rangers

Please visit our Heritage section for more information about the History of Windsor Great Park and its Rangers.

Sir Henry Neville 1559 – 1607

Sir Henry Lovelace 1607 – 1647

Earl of Pembroke 1648 – 1662

Lord Maudaunt 1662 – 1668

Prince Rupert 1668 – 1671

Baptist May 1671 – 1697

William Earl of Portland 1697 – 1702

Sarah, The Duchess or Marlborough 1702 – 1744

John Spencer 1744 – 1746

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland 1746 – 1766

Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland 1766 – 1791

King George III 1791 – 1815

King George IV 1815 – 1830

King William IV 1830 – 1837

Queen Victoria 1837 – 1841

Prince Albert The Prince Consort 1841 – 1861

Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein 1861 – 1917

King George V 1917 – 1936

King George VI 1936 – 1952

The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh 1952 –

Discover more

Historic Timeline

Become a Member or Friend

The Crown Estate