North Hampshire

Winchester Cathedral - Photo: Richard Howell CCL

More than three centuries earlier another British hero, King Arthur, is reputed to have created his own piece of heaven – also at Winchester – and called it Camelot.


 

The county became one of the first parts of Britain to fall prey to the invading Romans and then the Normans who, in 1079, built Winchester’s magnificent cathedral.

The beautiful edifice contains the bones of former kings, the shrine of St Swithin and the modern-day tomb of the novelist Jane Austen.





All this is just a taste of a monumental heritage that makes north Hampshire a unique focus for tourists hoping to get a sense of old England.

 



This part of Hampshire is mainly built on chalk and has wildlife-rich areas known as the North and South Downs, both of which contain areas of outstanding natural beauty.

 Jane Austen's Grave - Photo: Gill Hicks CCL

Pilot Hill - Photo: Andrew Smith CCL

The highest point in the county is Pilot Hill at 938ft, or 286 metres, on the North Downs.


Butser Hill (886ft, or 270m) is the highest point on the South Downs and lies within the Queen Elizabeth Country Park nature reserve near Petersfield.


The county’s chalk substrate has turned its key rivers, the Itchen and the Test, into world-famous magnets for coarse and game angling.

Most visitors, however, will be seeking out the county's breathtaking scenery, taking in both forest and heath.

Many villages here are quiet, quaint and quintessentially English.

While walking and cycling are important activities, a major area for outdoor enthusiasts is Watership Down, north of Basingstoke - the landscape that inspired the novel of the same name.

Its author, Richard Adams, a sometime senior civil servant, was born at nearby Newbury and created the story for his two daughters, Juliet and Rosamund, who implored him to find a publisher.

It was rejected 13 times before eventually becoming a bestseller.

Watership Down -
Photo: Andrew Smith CCL

Jane Austen's House  - Photo: Tony Grant CCL

Adams was only one of Hampshire's famous writers.



Rector's daughter Jane Austen was born in the village of Steventon and spent the last few years of her life at Chawton where her major novels were penned.

The pioneering naturalist Gilbert White, who wrote ‘The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne’, lived at Selborne.


His 18th century house has been preserved within a 20-acre park.


Part of the house is devoted to a permanent exhibition on Captain Lawrence Oates, co-explorer with Scott of the Antarctic.

The Wakes - Photo: Dr. Neil Clifton CCL

St. Mary's Church -
Photo: Brendan & Ruth McCartney CCL

Devon-born writer Charles Kingsley, who penned ‘The Water Babies’, was the rector of the pretty village of Eversely for 33 years and founded the local primary school in 1853.









Among the many enthralling attractions are numerous great houses, country pubs and time-honoured stop-overs.

 

Bustling Basingstoke has the museum of Milestones, which explains the history of the county, as well as a 33-mile canal towpath full of sightseeing marvels which include the remains of 13th century Odiham Castle, one of only three to have been built by King John.





It was from here that the king rode out to Runnymede to sign the Magna Carta.

Odiham Castle - Photo: Colin Smith CCL

Wolvesley Palace - Photo: Herry Lawford CCL

Winchester can boast not merely a majestic cathedral but also Old Wolvesley Palace, founded in 907 by the Saxon Bishop Aethelwold, and Winchester Great Hall – this is all that remains of the city’s castle and the finest medieval building of its kind in England; inside is a painted round table reputed to have been used by King Arthur but actually made in the 1270s.

Nearby is the magnificent Palladian mansion of Avington Park on the banks of the River Itchen.


At Romsey stands sumptuous Broadlands House, former home of Earl Mountbatten, with grounds that constitute 'Capability' Brown’s finest work.


Its stable building has hardly altered since the end of the 17th century and now houses a Mountbatten Exhibition.

Broadlands House - Photo: Peter Facey CCL

Calleva Atrebatum - Photo: Patricia Steel CCL

Elsewhere, visitors will find military museums in the Army town of Aldershot, a Roman town-cum-museum at Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), and a Romany Folklore Museum near Selborne.



A ‘must see’ is the Museum of the Iron Age, near Andover, which explains the history of Danebury hill fort, one of the most closely studied prehistoric sites in Britain.

One of the major themes in this part of the world is the conservation of animals and birds.




Hence, you’ll come across signs for Birdworld and Underwater World, the Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm, Marwell Zoo and the Hawk Conservancy.

Marwell Zoo - Photo: Elaine Morgan CCL

Micheldever Wood - Photo: Jim Champion CCL

Equally significant are Hampshire’s many gardens located in a county that is replete with flowers, fields and farmland.







These include Odiham’s water lily collection.