A Historic Run - The Windsor Half Marathon

When running the Windsor Half Marathon in the Great Park, you are getting not only a bit of healthy exercise but also the opportunity to admire a landscape 1000 years in the making.

Assembling on the Long Walk, can be seen to the north. This huge stone edifice, originally built as a modest motte and bailey fortification about 1070 by William the Conqueror, has over the centuries developed into the largest lived-in castle in Europe. However, all eyes at the start of the race are fixed south, looking up the Long Walk to where the colossal known as the Copper Horse stands on Snow Hill, the highest point in the Park.

The starter’s gun fires and the runners now pounding up the Long Walk will be interested to know that the figure sitting astride the Copper Horse is George III, a monarch who contributed much to the development of the Great Park during his reign, including the formation of the farms for which he earned the name ‘Farmer George’. The statue was commissioned by George IV as a lasting tribute to his father but unfortunately he died before it was finally erected in 1831.

The steady climb to the top of the Long Walk will already have some runners panting and the level section of the course to Royal Lodge will come as welcome relief. Tucked away behind the trees, Royal Lodge was the Windsor residence of the late Queen Mother and, together with its beautiful grounds, was much loved by her and her husband George V1. The Lodge is still a royal residence, now the home of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

Passing by the grounds of Royal Lodge on the left is a grove of oak trees that are particularly significant in that it was planted by representatives of Commonwealth countries back in 1937 to commemorate the Coronation of George V1. Each tree has a plaque naming the species of oak and the Commonwealth country represented.

Just after 2 miles the route takes a sharp right where immediately on the left between the trees can be seen Cumberland Lodge, the oldest building in the Great Park. Originally built for a Parliamentarian army officer, it became the residence of the first Great Park Ranger, Baptist May, who held the office in the late 17th Century. Thereafter it was the residence of a number of notable people until the 1940’s when the Queen Mother bestowed it to a trust supporting the advancement of humanitarian and ethical sciences.

Now passing through the heart of the park below Cumberland Lodge, buildings associated with the park’s community begin to appear. First is the Royal School built by Queen Victoria to further the education of the children of park workers. It still serves this function today albeit with support of the local education authority. A row of picturesque cottages with immaculate gardens gives way to several farm buildings before the course does a sharp right and runners endure an ascent of Middle Hill before turning left to relief on the long gradual descent to the Village.

1 Originally a small cluster of houses built in the latter part of the 19th Century, the village expanded considerably during the mid 1900s and is now the heart of the park community, boasting not only a village green but also a shop selling everything from boot polish to cream teas.

Leaving the village the course continues past Russell’s Farm and into the deer park. When fenced in the late 13th Century, the Great Park itself was one large deer enclosure and the pursuit of deer was a favourite pastime of the nobility until hunting ceased in the late 1800s. Since then, the deer have been managed for historic and amenity benefits. The present herd of Red Deer was introduced by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1979 to replace the herd that was disbanded during the war years when the old deer enclosure in the southern area of the park was turned over to agriculture.

Now approaching the top of the Long Walk, but alas for the already exhausted runner, it is not for going down as it is only the first lap. However if the eyes are still in focus a great view of the castle perched on a chalk escarpment nearly three miles away can be fleetingly enjoyed just as the second and more testing lap beckons.

Through the deer enclosure back past Royal Lodge and the next stretch of the course passes across Smith’s Lawn, home of the Guards Polo Club. The club was formed in the 1950s and the ground is named after a Mr Smith who was stud groom to the Duke of Cumberland. A particular horse he bred was ‘Eclipse’ who became one of the greatest race horses of all time. After winning the Epsom Derby, his progeny continued in the same vein winning the race several times during the late 18th Century.

Half way across Smith’s Lawn with now 8 miles completed can be seen another large equestrian statue, the horseman being Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. Casting a critical eye on the horseman- ship of local polo players, the statue has plaques on all sides of its plinth and inscribed in four different languages these words appear:

‘Albert Prince Consort Born August 26th 1819. Died December 14th 1861. This statue was presented to Victoria Queen and Empress. A token of love and loyalty. From the Daughters of her Empire. In remembrance of her Jubilee June 12 1887. And was unveiled here on Monday May 12 1890’.

Leaving Smith’s Lawn, runners now descend Breakheart Hill and the horticulturists among them can admire the autumnal colours of the trees as they pass through this western section of the Valley Gardens. The Valley, together with the Savill Gardens, was created in the 1930s and 40s by the then Park Deputy Ranger Sir Eric Savill. Since then they have developed into two of the foremost woodland gardens in the whole of Britain, holding no less than nine national collections of woody plant species.

At the bottom of Breakheart Hill can be glimpsed the Virginia Water, a popular beauty spot much visited by day trippers and local walkers. Two miles in length and more than 100 acres in area the lake was dug out by ‘resting’ troops in the 1760s at the request of the Duke of Cumberland. A royal barge could be seen traversing the lake during the early part of the 19th Century and, to add to the classical landscape, Roman ruins from Leptis Magnus in Libya were shipped from North Africa and re erected on the south bank close to what is now the A30 London Road.

2 The next section of the course brings welcome shade to the now exhausted runner as it passes through some of the park’s ancient woodland up to Manor Hill, where there is temporary relief to be had at a drinks and First Aid station. A private area of the park open by permission of the Crown Estate especially for the marathon, this section takes the runners onto Dukes Lane where, during Ascot Week, the Queen and her royal party can be seen travelling to the races in elegant horse drawn carriages.

While grimacing and digging into the uphill gradient of Dukes Lane, runners may not be aware that they are passing mighty oak trees, some of which are 1000 years old. Without a doubt the iconic feature of the Great Park, these ancient oak trees scattered throughout are a living link to the past and their intrinsic value both biologically and culturally cannot be over-estimated. It is a fact that ancient trees are habitat to several thousand organisms such as fungi, insects and lichens and and Forest is one of the most important sites in Europe for these magnificent trees.

Turning left of Dukes Lane at Holly Bush cottages, the last uphill slog is compensated for by a view of the Queen’s Jubilee statue on Queen Anne’s Ride. At this stage, being 11 miles into the run, the mind may be focused more on survival than statues but this magnificent edifice was a gift to the Queen from the Crown Estate Commissioners to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Sitting astride a horse, the Queen is seen dressed informally in riding attire looking down Queen Anne’s Ride towards the castle, as if out riding in the Great Park as she would have done many times during the earlier years of her reign.

Passing the statue brings some relief for the now-exhausted runner as the remainder of the course is flat or downhill. Encouragement by locals enjoying a beer is given to runners as they pass the ‘York Club’ and now there are just 2 miles to go. Supporters line the route as they re-enter the deer enclosure and this time round it is back onto the Long Walk and the last mile. The castle might just as well not be there as the runner’s gaze is now firmly fixed on the finishing gantry. One last burst of energy and they stumble over the line, some elated, some nonchalant, most exhausted but with one thing in common; they have all run through history and completed the Windsor Half Marathon.

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