Activities in Slough

Head past Eton College and over the River Thames, and you’ll soon come face-to-face with Windsor Castle, a spectacular five-acre royal castle packed with fine art, antiques, historic grounds and more. A royal castle for nearly a millennium, it’s the largest and oldest still occupied castle in the world and has housed 39 monarchs, including the modern day Queen who spends most of her private weekends at the castle – if the Royal Standard flag is flying, it means she’s at home.

Standard tickets get you access to the State Apartments, St George’s Chapel and the Semi-State Rooms during winter, while the private evening tours give you more detail, taking a behind the ropes approach to many of the best rooms. As well as the amazing castle, make sure to explore the grounds, including the three-mile Long Walk and the Changing of the Guards, which takes place around 11am.

With wakeboarding, swimming, boating and more on offer across a huge fresh-water lake, Liquid Leisure is Europe’s largest Aqua Park and just several miles southeast from our Slough hotel. The wakeboarding lake is kitted out with a cable park and more jumps than you could shake a tail grab at, with ramps, jumps, slides, steps and more. Full rental, lessons are available for beginners, as well as hourly or daily passes.

Just as much fun is the Aqua Park, an interconnected series of water slides, floating trampolines, monkey bars and more that’s open for children older than six for 50-minute sessions. Alternatively, take a more leisurely approach to the water and sign yourself up for paddleboarding, a relaxed outing on a boat or some open water swimming, with a hot chocolate – or glass of wine – waiting for you at the onsite bar and café.

On the banks of the River Thames, Alexandra Park is a quiet and peaceful park that dates back to 1893. There’s a large playground, crazy golf course, bikes for hire and amusement park open through the year, as well as an ice rink and Christmas market in winter, while the gardens are beautifully maintained with a gorgeous array of flowers and shrubs. There’s plenty of nearby parking and two cafés in the park open for drinks, snacks and lunch.

Perfect for bike riding, dog walking, exploring and even horse riding, Langley Country Park is an enormous green space home to woodland, heathland and grassland just a short drive up Uxbridge Road from our Slough hotel. As well as miles of trails to explore amongst the gorgeous scenery, the park is also well-equipped with picnic areas, a new café, orienteering course, toilets and baby changing facilities. There’s even a newly refurbished children’s playground. Open year round, the park is a brilliant wilderness for animals, home to ducks, deer and even great spotted woodpeckers.

If ice skating is a little bit mundane for you, how about heading to Absolutely Ice on the western edge of Slough’s town centre and booking in for a session of ice-karting? The sessions involve using specially modified karts for over 16s that skid around the huge ice rink. There are plenty of other ice rink activities, including skating sessions, discos, a full range of lessons, and a brand new Clip’n’Climb wall and café.A word to the wise, Bodenham Arboretum is not free, and the price of tickets changes with the seasons of the year but at roughly a few pounds for adults it's worth it for a peaceful afternoon outdoors.

Covering a wide range of cars and motor vehicles from 1900 to 1950, the History on Wheels Museum near Chalvey is a fascinating insight into the development of the humble car from development into a mainstream success. The museum also looks at the role of motor vehicles in major conflicts, with a large military exhibition including a reconstructed air-raid shelter.