EATING in Eton and royal wonders in Windsor.

David Dunn David Dunn has a weekend break with tradition.

HOW many famous former pupils can you name from your old classrooms?

At Eton College only the school itself competes with some of its old boys for the spotlight.

Beyond the cobbled quadrangle and the cloistered corridors a small but information-packed museum boasts of celebrities and politicians who have passed through these privileged gates and into the public eye.

New Avenger Patrick MacNee, David Cameron, Boris Johnson, original Sherlock Holmes actor Jeremy Brett, rugged adventurer Bear Grylls, Olympic hero Matthew Pinsent and Princes Henry and Harry are among the ‘stars’ of Eton’s hallowed halls.

Some of them no doubt etched their names in the gnarled pillars and shutters in the Lower School, a tradition for boys elected to King’s College, Cambridge.

“The uniforms get just as tatty as at any other school, though,” quipped our guide as we spotted one of the brightly coloured waistcoats of the Eton Society, the school’s prefectorial body.

At a cost per year the equivalent of the average annual wage this is as close as many of us will ever get to the famous classrooms. But few educational institutions are as fascinating or as English as Eton, even if the mostly privileged intake – there are three applications for every place - is increasingly international these days.

One thing hasn’t changed – the boys aren’t allowed to cross the bridge into Windsor, separated from Windsor by the River Thames.

Beyond it lies that huge castle, a royal landmark in grey stone visible pretty much from anywhere in this smart town.

The Queen was in residence on the weekend we visited. But she wasn’t to be seen in Gilbey’s, back on Eton High Street and one of a plethora of quality dining options that reflect the affluence of this top 10 tourist attraction.

Clustered around the link between Windsor and Eton with view of the river are plenty of places - Christopher Wren’s House, among them - to widen the waist and slim the wallet.

While many serve lunch there are a cluster of largely chain opportunities in The Old Booking Hall, the former station area also home to the travel information office and mainstream shopping.

WHILE the castle dominates the centre of Windsor the Thames comes a close second.

One of the regular cruises offered by French Brothers – just look for where the most swans are gathered for an idea of the quayside ticket office - gives a different perspective of the racecourse and some of the multi-million pound homes that back onto the water, some no doubt inhabited by those Eton boys done good.

It isn’t the most thrilling of boat rides but with a glass of wine in hand and the right weather it is a pleasant way to give the feet a rest and get some perspective.

Everything else can get suitably relaxed a short drive out of town to Old Windsor where you will find The White House.

Part of the stylish Principal Hayley portfolio, the recently opened boutique hotel has undergone an £8.1m refurbishment in keeping with it surroundings, the immediate ones being the manicured grounds of the Beaumont Estate within which it lies.

A former Jesuit training college and boys school, of the 26 rooms 10 are suites - each named after a previous headmaster.

Nowadays there’s no detention and the white colonnades are bathed in warm blue light at night.

While the planes from nearby Heathrow Airport whisk people off to exotic places it is comforting to know you haven’t got to move far for your own slice of distracting comfort. And there’s always room service if tackling the restaurant - or the gym - in the adjacent Beaumont House sounds too demanding.

FACTFILE:

DAVID stayed at The White House, Beaumont Estate, Burfield Road, Old Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 2JJ. Tel: 01753 640001 or email whitehouse@principal-hayley.com

Rates are from £179 for a deluxe room or £249 for a suite, both on B&B basis. Visit www.principal-hayley.com for special offers during the year.

LET East Midlands Trains take the strain to London, then catch the Oxford service out of Paddington - visit www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk for details.

VISIT www.windsor.gov.uk for information on Windsor Castle, Eton College, Savill Garden, Legoland, Stanley Spencer Art Gallery, Cookham and Windsor Wheel.