<P> During the World Wars, the Smith's Lawn area of the Park was used for housing troops . During the 1940s, much of the deer park was ploughed and farmed for food, which involved the felling of hundreds of ancient trees . Over 200 large bombs fell on the land, including several V - 2 rockets . During the 1948 Summer Olympics, the park was used as the road cycling venue . In the 1950s, the Park was gradually turned into the recreation area open to the public that it is today . This involved the re-planting of Savill Gardens (which had been allowed to run wild during the war) and the new Valley Gardens . In 1951, a large wall for creeping plants was built at Savill using bricks from bombed - out London buildings . In 1958, a Totem pole was installed nearby, a gift from British Columbia to the Queen . </P> <P> In 1972 Ubi Dwyer organised the "People's Free Festival", the first of the Windsor Free Festivals in the Park, attended by 700 people . A co-organiser Sid Rawle claimed that Windsor Great Park has been common land until the 18th century, and inclosed (made private) by George III . Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was reported to be "furious". Ubi and his allies repeated the festival in 1973 with at least 1,400 in attendance . In 1973, the Windsor Great Park regulations were introduced . In 1974, 7,000 people turned up but it was violently broken up by police, who made 220 arrests and the festival was banned . Dwyer was jailed the next year for distributing leaflets to promote another festival and Rawle was given three months for reproducing parts of Ubi's leaflets in the underground newspaper International Times . </P> <P> A new visitor centre designed by Glenn Howells Architects and Buro Happold was opened in June 2006, and was nominated for the 2007 Stirling Prize . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section is written like a manual or guidebook . Please help rewrite this section from a descriptive, neutral point of view, and remove advice or instruction . (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Why is the road to windsor castle called the long walk