Egham/Windsor/Staines

[Walkacrossthesand]

Anyone here from this area? A friend & I have a Saturday day to kill at the end of March, thinking along the lines of ...good coffee shops/cafes, nice short walks, maybe a bric-a-brac browse in a shop or market if there's one happening. Not Legoland, or Windsor castle itself!
Ideas appreciated, thanks!

Staines has a market, but it's a standard fruit & veg, and cheap stuff. No antiques.

Windsor Great Park is lovely. There is Valley Gardens (free) and Saville Gardens (paid, but you can get in with RHS membership). The shop is fantastic if you are looking for gifts.

You can also walk along Runnymede - along the Thames, and look at the 2015 statue of the Queen. Further along are the Chairs. There is also a Magna Carta visitor center and the American memorial. At the end of the Medes is the Magna Carta Tea Room (National Trust).

What brings you to Egham?

Meeting a friend who is doing a Heathrow drop, and staying in the area overnight.

I'd read about the 'mostly boxes' collectibles shop in Windsor, it looks worth a visit - do you know it?

Thanks for reply, btw - appreciated!

In Windsor:

Cafes: Cinnamon Cafe in Central station (home of the infamous cinnamon bun); Millars in St Leonards Road; Artefood by Riverside station; Nimia in Eton (there's an alleyway by Eton Costa that leads to some riverside seating). Or anywhere that takes your fancy, spoiled for choice really.

Walks: down to Romney Lock and back; a riverside circuit across The Brocas via the Thames path, over the relief road bridge and back on the Windsor side (Edwards coffee shop by the viaduct for a half-way stop) although this can be muddy; the Long Walk

Shops: vintage at Windsor Vintage (Grove Road); antiques at Wellington Antiques; lots of independent shops in St Leonards Road

Other: boat trip (French Brothers)

If the weather's nice, it's a great place to spend the day

Thanks both, great suggestions there. We came across the Windsor Farm Shop too, which was nice - didn't fancy a coffee but the cafe looked worth bearing in mind for another time.

Egham
Hi there,
Thinking to move to Egham, we are young family with 2 year old.
Found house in Ayebridges avenue and would love to get insight on schools and how safe is area for raising a toddler and growing family!

Hi there,

This is a good area. It's very safe and there are places to go walking with your child.

There are four schools nearby for you to choose from. Thorpe Lea is closest (and has its own nursery), followed by The Hythe. You would probably need to drive to Thorpe Infants, and Manorcrofts (although could walk if you are hardy).

My eldest two went to a childminder in Ayebridges.

We live about a half-mile away towards Staines.

Do you have any insights to share about Thorpe Lea school? Thank you very much!

I used to be a governor there!

You'll find that the Ofsted reports for schools in Egham are fairly accurate.

My Foster Child is at The Hythe School, and we are very impressed by it.