Home Park · Windsor Castle · Berkshire SL4 · May · Five days
Royal Windsor: the evening is the reason
The Royal Windsor Horse Show runs for five days in Home Park with the castle directly behind the arenas, and the daytime showing is excellent. What most people actually book for is the evening performance, staged against the castle after dark, which is a different sort of occasion altogether.
Performances run into the night with the castle lit behind the arena. It is the ticket that sells first and the one that changes your transport, because it means a late finish rather than an afternoon one.
Two quite different tickets
Same site, same week, and completely different timings.
Across five days
Showing classes, driving and displays across multiple arenas. Finishes in the afternoon.
After dark
Staged against the castle. Late finish, and the ticket most people want.
Common
Arrive for the afternoon, stay through for the evening. A long and very good day.
All week
As at the other big equestrian events, and a large part of the day for many.
Kent to Windsor
Round the M25 to the west, and the return runs late if you are on the evening ticket.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Journey |
|---|---|---|
| Bromley & Orpington | 38 miles | 1h 5m – 1h 40m |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 41 miles | 1h 10m – 1h 45m |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 44 miles | 1h 15m – 1h 50m |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 49 miles | 1h 20m – 2h |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 56 miles | 1h 30m – 2h 10m |
| Rochester & Chatham | 59 miles | 1h 35m – 2h 15m |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 83 miles | 2h – 2h 45m |
An evening performance day
The long version, and the one worth planning properly.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| Midday to 14:00 | Leave Kent for the afternoon showing |
| Afternoon | Arena classes, displays and the trade stands |
| Early evening | A break, and food on site or in Windsor |
| Around 19:30 to 20:00 | Evening performance begins |
| Around 22:00 | Finish, with the castle lit behind |
| 22:15 onwards | We collect back from Home Park. Home by around midnight |
A day at Windsor
The evening ticket changes the booking
A daytime visit finishes in the afternoon and gets you home for dinner. The evening performance runs to around ten at night, which makes it a late return and a rather different arrangement. Tell us which you hold, because a vehicle booked on afternoon assumptions is no use to a group coming out of Home Park at quarter past ten.
Windsor town is worth the gap
Most people on an evening ticket have a few hours to fill between the afternoon classes and the performance, and Windsor is a mile away with plenty of places to eat. We are happy to run you in and back, or to set the arrival later if you would rather eat before you go in. Either costs nothing extra when it is built into the quote.
An hour from most of Kent
This is among the easier big events on our site, comfortably within an hour and a half of nearly all of the county round the M25. Even with a ten o'clock finish you are home around midnight, which makes the evening performance a genuinely practical outing rather than an expedition.
Home Park is grass, and May is May
The arenas are permanent enough but the site around them is parkland, and a wet May turns the walkways into exactly what you would expect. Sensible footwear, something waterproof, and the usual bag for anything muddy on the way home.
Royal Windsor Horse Show questions
Daytime, evening and getting home.
What is the evening performance?
A staged performance held after dark in the main arena with Windsor Castle lit behind it. It is the ticket that sells first and the reason most people book.
What time does the evening performance finish?
Around ten at night, which means a late return. Tell us if you hold an evening ticket so we set the collection properly.
Can we do both the afternoon and the evening?
Yes, and many people do. It makes for a long day with a gap in between, which Windsor town is a mile away and well suited to filling.
How far is Windsor from Kent?
Around forty to eighty-five miles, roughly an hour and a quarter to two and three quarter hours round the M25.
What time would we get home from an evening performance?
Around midnight for most of Kent, since the roads are clear by then. It is a practical outing rather than an expedition.
Can we eat in Windsor between sessions?
Yes. We are happy to run you into the town and back, or to set a later arrival if you would rather eat first. Either is built into the quote.
What should we wear?
Sensible footwear and something waterproof. Home Park is parkland and a wet May makes the walkways exactly what you would expect.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking, including the late collection if you are on the evening ticket.
Equestrian events and Berkshire
Windsor and the season.