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Runnymede
is famous for the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 by King John
and his Barons. The Magna Carta is widely accepted as the first
constitutional document that formed the basis of modern democracy.
Indeed the monument to the Magna Carta was funded and erected by
the American Bar Association.
Today, Runnymede itself is a very attractive meadow now owned by
the National Trust. The site is just a couple of miles south of
Windsor, near Old Windsor, the original settlement before the castle
was built up river.
There is a public bus service from Windsor to within a few hundred
metres of the Runnymede site. Broadly the service runs every 30
minutes, hourly early mornings, evenings and Sundays
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Windsor
- Runnymede - Staines - Heathrow Bus
First Bus runs the bus service to Runnymede from Windsor and Heathrow
on route 71.
Ask the driver for the Bells of Ouzeley Pub, Old Windsor. Journey
time is 10-15 minutes.
From Heathrow the 71 bus starts from the public bus stand outside
Terminal 5 arrivals. |
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From
the Bells of Ouzeley be on the footpath by the road next to the River
Thames. Follow this riverside path, parallel to the road away from
Windsor (going south).
After about 100m the path veers of left away from the road to follow
the river, by a road junction. Eventually you come to the operational
base of French Brothers. French Brothers operate the pleasure boats
along the river. Their cash cow is the short trips in Windsor, but
they also operate trips from here at Runnymede.
During the summer months frequent short boat trips are run from here
as well as occasional trips to back to Windsor and Hampton Court.
See their web site for details : French
Brothers
You now are entering Runnymede. Use the notes on our Runnymede
self guided walk for background and directions to the various
monuments at Runnymede. |
French
Brothers Pleasure Boat at Runnymede |
The
only refreshments at Runnymede itself is a tea shop, about 50m from
French Brothers by the road which goes through Runnymede.
From outside the tea shop is a map and from the car park you can see
the clear path going over to the memorials.
Note, the paths are grass. During the winter months, this is a water
meadow so it can be extremely wet if a lot of rain has fallen in preceding
days.
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