Round Berkshire Cycle Route - Windsor Loop
Cycle path between The Rangers Gate and Clewer Green
Start & Finish: Windsor Bridge, Windsor, SL4 6AA
Distance: 23.3 km (20 Miles)
Elevation change: +/- 212m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (walk): Thames Path, Jubilee River Path, Three Castles Path
Other Routes Touched (cycle): NCN 4, Ascot To Windsor Cycle Path
Pubs / Cafes on route: several on Eton High Street
Map: OS Explorer Map (160) Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
Links: Round Berkshire Cycle Route, Eton, Windsor, Windsor Bridge, Old Windsor, Windsor Great Park
Previous section: Round Berkshire Cycle Route - Maidenhead Loop
This is the first in a series of short trips to tackle the Round Berkshire Cycle Route in smaller sections. The full route is 140 miles from Lambourne in the west to Datchet in the east. I’ll probably do the whole route in a single trip one day, but for now I’m happy to break it into smaller sections. See the leaflet about the route for descriptions of the main points of interest.
We started this loop at Windsor Bridge, close to both of the town’s train stations and several car parks. From here the route heads north toward Slough before diverting east to Datchet. After Datchet the route follows the B3021 parallel to the Thames joining the A308 into Old Windsor. Depending on your love of hills, the climb up Crimp Hill into the Great Park is either a high or a low-light.
Must of Windsor Great Park is reserved for walkers and horse-riders with cycling prohibited on many paths. The route 52 takes you along the the cyclable parts on very well maintained roads. At the southern end of the park you’ll exit at Blacknest Gate following Mill Lane then Buckhurst Road. When you reach the Ascot Gate you’ll leave the route 52 as it continues along Sunninghill Road to Bracknell. Instead, return into the park and take Dukes Lane North-East to The Village.
At this point you can join an inner circle of the route 52 up to Snow Hill and the Copper Horse and back to The Village via Bishopsgate Road. On the day we were there the gates to Snow Hill were closed to cyclists so we had to double back to The Village. Whichever option you’ve taken, the next stage starts with following the westerly road from The Village junction, up to Primrose Hill and north to the Ranger’s Gate.
Be careful when exiting the Ranger’s Gate as the A332 can be extremely busy. The road is the quickest route back to Windsor, but for a safer, more interesting route, take the cycle path to the left of the road and follow it to the grounds of Windsor FC and onto the B3022. The final 2km of the route winds through residential streets before returning to the river on Barry Avenue between the Thames and Alexandra Park.
