I was due to go on holiday on 7th September, to Normandy in France for two weeks, everything was ready and packed.
On 6th September late afternoon I thought I’d water the pots in the garden as I didn’t want them drying out whilst I was away, whilst I was doing that I was aware of something black and yellow buzzing against my nose, I swiped at it and realised as the sting started hurting alot that it was a wasp, I put cream on it straight away, sat quietly and as my face started swelling and hurting alot that we weren’t going to be going on the holiday to France…. fortunately we had booked the accommodation as a pay on arrival, so were able to cancel it all other than the ferry costs. I didn’t want to be anywhere other than being at home feeling miserable and looking worse with a swollen face, I was aware that it would take a few days for the swelling to go down. And then of course it was a case of well we can’t go on the French holiday (as it had been booked two months previously) but we could go somewhere in England, somewhere within a two hour drive,.. somewhere I hadn’t been before..and after a couple of days of searching places the ideal one came up…Winchester in Hampshire, a city steeped in history, Englands ancient capital and former seat of King Alfred the Great. The culturally rich medieval city is surrounded by idyllic Hampshire villages, and the rolling countryside of the South Downs National Park, one and a half hours drive away, and we found a hotel perfectly situated close to Winchester.
We went there a week after the wasp incident, and had a weeks holiday in Hampshire… and I couldn’t have chosen anywhere better….
The first day, Thursday, we had in Winchester, six hours of exploring the important aspects – Winchester cathedral, the longest Medieval cathedral in the world, its been a living place of worship for over 900 years. The Great Hall built in 1067 by William the Conqueror, with the iconic King Arthurs round table high on the wall (with the legs removed) as a symbol of the chivalry the knights of the time aspired to. I know that King Arthur is fictional but he is admired by various kings and knights since then as a fictional hero. We saw King Alfred the Greats statue, (King of Wessex from 871 and later King of the Anglo-Saxons known for defeating Viking armies and initiating major legal, educational and military reforms, he restored Winchester after the Dark Ages). Winchester college, (one of the oldest private schools in the country and still occupies its original Medieval bulidings). Jane Austens statue, ancient buildings full of history and also the busy high street full of interesting shops and delicious food and drink cafes.
The second day, Friday, we thought we’d explore the villages in the area, and went to Arlesford, a picturesque village on a hill with trees and cottages and cafes, pubs and shops lining the road. After that we went to another appealing village that someone staying at our hotel had been to the day before and enjoyed, I’d never heard of it before – Stockbridge, and it turned out to be one of my favourite places, when we arrived about 2pm and parked on the main street I couldn’t see where to pay for parking so popped into of one the little cafes to ask, and wasn’t expecting the reply I had, it was ‘FREE’ with no time restriction on the time, it was a nice upmarket village with lots of shops, cafes, pubs, and little channels of water crisscrossing the street from the River Test, controlled clear water channels in a place like that are my favourite thing in villages, they led onto the River Test at the end of the village. About 4pm we wanted to have a sandwich but nowhere seemed to be selling food, they weren’t open until later for food or had run out earlier because of the visitors, but when we went into a little cafe to ask the young woman working there if she had any food, she said she hadn’t BUT she looked online for us to advice and help us, even though she was busy with other customers, I thought that was so friendly and helpful of her. We did eventually find somewhere to eat that was delicious, different and we thanked them for it, so lovely to have independent food places in a place like that. I was much impressed with Stockbridge in so many ways.
The following day, Saturday, was quite windy so we thought we’d try and head for the coast as it wasn’t that far away and headed for Lee on Solent, I know technically its not the sea, as its not that far from the Isle of Wight which we could see across the big waves. I had a bit of a walk by the sea but it was too windy or me and I adore the sea, so we went into an Amusement arcade and played the ‘2p drop games’, which was a lot of fun, choosing the right machine with the most appealing clump of coins likely to fall in the winnings tray, I’m not a gambler but the £2 I put in of 2ps kept me happily amused for an hour! We left Lee on Solent and drove around the headland to Portchester, another place I’d never heard of. I know that if any place has the word ‘chester’ as part of it, its going to be an old Roman walled town or fort, and it turned out to be just that, the lovely picturesque village of Portchester was somewhere I could happily live with the pretty cottages and just outside the village was an old castle with stone walls and parts of the ancient building were still standing, it was free to go in, and had an ancient church and churchyard there within the walls, which looked quite Gothic. Another fascinating place I’d never heard of!
The following day, Sunday, was sunny again so we decided to visit ‘The Wallops’, for no other reason that they sounded interesting, and they all turned out to be pretty scenic villages within 5 miles together, my favourite was ‘Nether Wallop’ (I could quite happily have lived there) with the prettiest stream, ancient bridge and cottages around it. ‘Middle Wallop’ was smaller than the other two and ‘Over Wallop’ was the larger of the villages, I took a lot of photos and was delighted when people who live there said hello to me as I took photos, its reassuring when people are so friendly. Since we were close to Salisbury and it was such a lovely sunny day we decided to go to the city, I have been before but about 20years ago and was more than happy to go again. We parked easily in a car park near the Cathedral (a lot cheaper than Winchester parking!) and walked to the Cathedral, perfect sunshine in the afternoon light, the old stone buildings and lots of people of all nationalities there, we had (very expensive but delicious) tea and cake in the Cathedral cafe, but hadn’t got time to go into the Cathedral itself on that visit, and then after that had a nice walk around the historic parts of the city, and the River Avon was a delight under the stone bridge.
The following day was Monday, perfect sunny weather and we wanted to go back to Winchester to explore the areas we’d missed on the first visit, this time I wanted to concentrate on the Abbey Gardens, and the river Itchen walks. Before we did that we went to the Cathedral and grassy area around it, lots of people were sitting in the sun, and I was most amused by 2 young women who asked me if I’d be happy to answer a few questions for their A-level Geography course about what I thought of Winchester high street and why I was there in Winchester – I replied I was there for a VERY unique reason, when they asked why, I explained I should be in France, in Normandy, but because of the wasp sting I’d had to cancel that holiday so now I was on the other side of the English Channel exploring English geography and history instead of French! After a pleasant walk to the nearby Abbey gardens I fell in love with the prettiest smallest park I’ve ever been in, with the River Itchen partly diverted through it with little water channels flowing through it, I read that the controlled water channels were partly created 100’s of years ago as a way to stop flooding in the city, and also to help divert water for water mills that were needed to grind the flour for the town. And a short distance from that was a walk by the river that is called ‘The weirs’, again it was one of the prettiest walks I’ve ever done, the clear water ran by the side of the wide pathway, with loads of benches, trees, historic houses, ducks and even a heron were there surrounded by nature and history, I’ve never had a favourite river before, but the River Itchen in Winchester is it! After that most enjoyable walk we had cold drinks and cake in the cafe in the Abbey Gardens the young woman who ran it was friendly and chatty and loved living in Winchester, I can see why! After that we had another wander around Winchester cathedral grounds, the late afternoon sunlight catching the ancient stones in a far better light that earlier, we’d been in the city six hours, like the first day but this visit was far more enjoyable and relaxed, the first visit was the basic bones of the city, today we saw its soul…
The next day was Tuesday and our last full day so we decided to go to The New Forest, (a title that always amuses me as it was created by William the Conqueror for royal hunting featuring in the Doomesday Book), its one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, partly in Hampshire and partly in Wiltshire. Its the home of the New Forest Commoners whose ancient rights of common pasture is still recognised and exercised enforced by official verders. In the 18th century the New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy, it remains a habitat for many rare birds of mammals, I know pigs are sent into the forest in September to eat the acorns so the wild horses can’t eat them and harm themselves. We saw lots of the wild horses by the side of the roads totally unconcerned about the cars and traffic driving close by them, not surprisingly as its their land. We drove to Lyndhurst first and had a wander around the town then through the very picturesque village of Beaulieu on the tidal river of Beaulieu then on to Bucklers Hard, another fascinating place I’d not been to before but had seen a television programme about it some years ago but couldn’t remember to significance until we got there. Bucklers Hard is an 18th Century shipbuilding village on the Beaulieu River, featuring a maritime museum, historic Georgian cottages, a modern marina, riverside walks and seasonal river cruises. Its the shipyard where boats for Nelsons Navy were built, which makes sense with the English oaks growing in the forest nearby and the river being close to sail the ships out when they were built. I’m so pleased we got to see it today, and understand its importance to English history.
Infact the whole visit to Winchester, Salisbury, The New Forest, the friendly villages of Hampshire, the stunningly beautiful rolling hills of Hampshire, the pretty rivers – Itchen, Test, Avon, Beaulieu, have been fascinating.
I might not have been in France as I had planned for a holiday but I’ve certainly seen the best that England has to offer on this holiday, its been perfect in so many ways.I’ve always said that September is my favourite month for the golden sunlight, and this holiday was full of that golden light, ideal for photos..