Blogs from Winchester, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

We had completed our cat sitting on August 17th in Chichester and had another one to start on August 19th so had to find some place to stay for the evening of August 17th and 18th. Where do we go? We looked at the map and train schedules and found that Winchester looked like a good location. We didn’t find an Airbnb there, but found a hotel right in the center of town so plan was set. We didn’t know anything about Winchester but found it has a long history. It has been determined that the first permanent residents were during the Iron Age in 150 BC. The Romans then came and built the town in a grid pattern for their homes, shops and temples. In the 3rd C. the previously wooden walls were changed to ... read more

The plane ride was good, a picnic with complimentary wine and cheese and crackers that I’d brought were a great way to start the flight. After customs, we found the location of our bus ride to Winchester then found some Italian coffee to pass the 3 hours we had to wait. The bus ride would have been interesting if we would not have kept falling asleep. We arrived in downtown Winchester, hopped into a cab and went to our hotel. We wanted to go to dinner in downtown Winchester but couldn’t find the wherewithal to leave so ate at the hotel restaurant. This was actually a good choice as the food was good and gluten-free. The buffet breakfast had lots of choices so we could fill up on food that would last for several hours. We ... read more

On our way to pick up a cruise to Norway via a stopover in Winchester. A quick cruise up to the Arctic Circle to try and spot the Northern Lights in Alta, Norway. Just four Norwegian ports. Cheers... read more

Visit to Winchester Mark took a day off on Friday, 5 March 2014, and treated me to visit Winchester. We had lunch at the Chinese Restaurant near the station. Then, we headed for the Cathedral via the High Street. After paying the admission fees, we started strolling through the inside of the Cathedral, found the medieval nave, 12th century font, Jane Austen’s grave, the great screen, monuments of celebrities including William Walker, choir stalls with ornate carvings with the theme of a lively enchanted forest, the fishermen’s chapel, and looked round the library and Triforium Gallery. We saw the priceless Winchester Bible and a number of beautiful illustrated books in the library and fragments of the old monuments including the tomb of St Swithum. The highlights include the Norman Crypt situated beneath the east end of ... read more

England Segment Winchester Aug 19 – 22 We took the Heathrow Express to Paddington then the Bakerloo to Waterloo Station. After fumbling around a bit to validate our train ticket I noticed that the ticket was good for anytime that day. After Ross verified that we caught the very next train that left in 9 minutes. Saved us an hour or more waiting and it was a direct train. We had a late lunch at Porterhouse and then taxied to Giffard House B&B. Very nice place – we have a huge room with 2 bathrooms. We went walking and most things were closed as it was Sunday. Bed early. Monday was spent walking, shopping, sightseeing and shopping. Excellent lunch at Ginger Two and a bargain dinner at The Slug and Lettuce. Tuesday we rented bicycles and ... read more