Windsor - 15th March 2009

It's a funny thing but more often than not I haven't investigated places in my local area, instead going to places like London. Now while London is, as I have said before, a very important urban centre especially with regards to my work. I kinda feel however like I might have been missing a trick in not doing these places close by. I think the reason for this is because they are close by, I feel like I know them or at least think that I do. What I have realised is that actually I really have no clue and on top of this there is a particular mind set I feel I have to go through or get into, if that makes any sense.

So what is so special about Windsor? Well to answer that I shall quote a friend on msn I talked to the morning after the trip. Unfortunately I cannot quote it verbatim as I shut the window (I have the setting to save the conversation switched off, saving space ftw).
“Can't say I know much about Windsor other than:

1. The Castle

2. Legoland
3. Legoland has a scale model of the castle at point 1”

Apparently point 3 was made up, and after Internet based searching I can neither prove nor disprove it (would anyone like to pay for me to visit Legoland to find out :P).

What I am groping for here is the point that Windsor is very much based around the castle. 90% of the postcards I have found depicting Windsor are of the castle, however this is understandable for just how a dominant and important structure it is. (It is important to note as fully half of the postcards in Windsor do not actually depict the castle but instead are images of the royal family)

Wikipedia says:

Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation

In fact I found the full wiki article very engaging and interesting and encourage you all to read it as I will be doing once I finish this first draft.

The castle was based of a motte and bailey type structure and has expanded over the years. Due to this and possibly a natural hill as well (It certainly seemed that way while in town but I couldn't find anything to quote and prove it so) the Castle overlooks the town of Windsor. In fact it is so dominant that I found it a hard task to not inadvertently photograph it. Add in that it is the favoured weekend retreat of Her Majesty and you have a tourist paradise.

However I don't think this dominance is a bad thing. It is a good looking building and around it has grown the town, so happily there are plenty of older buildings. Now I pride myself on being able to find interest and beauty in any place I visit but it is made much easier in places with a little history behind them. Maybe the buildings just have that little bit of individualism that sets them out from each other, maybe I just find them more aesthetically pleasing than masses of glass, steel and concrete. Possibly it is nothing more than while trying to act as a tourist to these places I get wrapped up in the atmosphere and advertising of these older places and my notions of holidays in Britain. Anyway I really struggle when faced with ,what I see as faceless, shopping malls and city centres and frequently find myself attracted to churches and occasionally pubs.

Actually I think that the major thing for me is that I want myself and by extension the people who look at my images to be able to say of yes that is London or wherever, without me having to put text on the image to that effect even though I generally will anyway. I realise that this is a little irrational and that I have many an examples of a postcard that is of some cottage in a tiny little village somewhere which would have made no sense to me if it wasn't for the text.

Anyway Windsor is in that regard a joy to photograph and of the almost 300 photographs I took I am sure that I will find many many potential paintings, drawings and images from them. And every one will stand a good chance of having the castle in them.

Seriously, go down to the river and turn around, there is the Castle.
Walk to Eton, the Castle peeks over the rooftops.
Wander the depths of the Great Park and there is the Castle on the horizon.

In fact I actually started my day in the Great Park and the further away I walked from town the more of the Castle I could see, mainly becuase I was going up a hill in the park. It reminded me of the time years and years ago (I think almost 20 but I can't be sure) when visiting Windsor with my father we parked in a nondescript multistory car park at what felt like miles from the castle. Even so we were able to see and photograph the castle with even my rubbishy compact camera which I found very exciting. Which proves that some things never really change. Unfortunately the photograph I took I seem to have since lost.

I did however find this unrelated and previously forgotten about photograph. It was taken about the same time as the Windsor ones on my first visit to Alton Towers.

I took it because (and I remember this very clearly unlike the rest of the trip) I liked the way the crazy dark sky looked so strange in contrast to the bright shiny sunlit Windmill.

Well wouldn't you know.