How easy is it to figure out the rail system and get to Windsor for a day trip from London? It looks like it might be easiest from Paddington. The question is, do we need advance reservations? or can we show up that day and expect to get on? How much does it usually cost?
Thanks!

i can't remember 100% all the specs, but i do recall that you won't need advance reservations. we went from paddington station, i believe there was a stop where we changed trains in slough, all and all was maybe half hour trip (i am probably being very generous. as far as price, i want to say it was 15-20 quid for the two of us roundtrip.
very

no reservations even possible on these trains and no problem getting on - put any angst to rest. 2xhourly service or so i believe - the change at Slough on some is from one platform to another.

Trains run frequently and you do not need reservations. We left from Paddington.

The transfer at Slough is convenient. Returning, watch for express trains (they run frequently late afternoon) on the board which skip most of the stops and return you to London much quicker.

Extremely easy. Get on the train to Paddington, and change at Slough - no advance bookings needed. Sometime since my last trip so can't help with prices but not expensive. The express trains are generally super fast so the travelling time will be very quick (around 25 minutes) Add a walk into Eton to your trip to Windsor as it's a lovely little town and the view up to Windsor Castle is stunning. If you're going summertime, stay in Windsor for and early dinner and catch the train back afterwards, you'll still be back before dark!!

You can also go from Waterloo, and arrive in Windsor at the pretty little Eton Riverside Station a few steps further away. No transfer, but may take a little longer. (55 minutes)

you can go from Waterloo w/o a change and from Paddington w/ an easy change at Slough.

The two routes serve two different stations in Windsor. Paddington > Slough > Windsor Cantral Station. And Waterloo > Windsor and Eton Riverside Station.

Windsor Central is a bit closer to the Castle - but which route is best really depends on where you are starting from in London.

Was posting the same time as NeoPatrick . . . .

We seem to do that a lot, janisj. LOL

Yep - we need to stop meeting this way

Thanks for all your help! You all are great! We're heading to London next weekend for our first trip, can't wait.

make sure you walk out into the park around windsor castle and look back at the skyline....one of the wonderful sites of england...

if the royal standard is flying over the castle tower, it means the queen is there---usually fridays mid-day to sundays...

as said above, make sure to walk over to eton across the little bridge...

We went to Hampton Court from Waterloo, where there is a traveler assistance office, or something like that (don't remember exactly what it was called). A very nice gent put together a package for the train/palace, and boat returning at a significant savings, and explained everything to us, along with providing brochures. We also already had our tickets for the palace, so were able to skip the ticket line. Not sure if there is such an office at Paddington or whether you can purchase combo tickets for Windsor Castle (we didn't know about this when we went to Windsor).