South Hampshire

Portsmouth Harbour - Photo: Martyn Pattison CCL

Its coastline, for example, is stuffed with seaside resorts and includes the great maritime cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, two of England’s largest and most historic ports.

Elsewhere lies the New Forest National Park, a wonderland for nature lovers, and a large portion of the glorious chalk-based South Downs.

Broom Hill, New Forest -
Photo: Jim Champion CCL

 Hayling Island Beach - Photo: Ray Stanton CCL

And that’s not all. Just off the shoreline can be found the Isle of Wight and splendid Hayling Island, a focus for both windsurfers and yachtsmen.

Long ago Hampshire was occupied by local tribes before it reluctantly became one of the first parts of Britain to fall to the Romans.

Later it formed one of the original Saxon shires and was the epicentre of the kingdom of Wessex - Winchester was King Alfred’s 9th century capital.

When the Normans arrived they transformed the vast New Forest into an aristocratic hunting ground and ironically helped to save parts of it for posterity.

During the Middle Ages a number of major industries were created as the county’s small-time ports started trading with continental Europe and beyond.

The manufacture of products such as wool and cloth became increasingly significant while coastal towns developed around fishing and shipbuilding.

King Alfred - Photo: Colin Smith CCL

Palace House, Beaulieu - National Motor Museum - Photo: Darren Hill CCL

Today southern Hampshire is home to the famous National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, a litany of picturesque villages and some of Britain’s most enchanting castles and great houses.

Nowhere is the ‘great outdoors’ better represented than by the New Forest, a land of oak and beech combined with lowland heath.




It once provided the timber needed to build the British Empire’s world-beating sea-going fleet.




The forest’s inhabitants still have ancient rights and privileges, including ‘pannage’ (the right to allow pigs to forage for acorns) and ‘estover’ (the right to cut firewood).




At one time they faced mutilation for breaching forest law.

Pigs - Photo: Stephen McKay CCL

Beachy Head - Photo: Colin Smith CCL

The South Downs were settled in Neolithic times and boast a range of chalk hills which end spectacularly in Sussex at the Seven Sister’s cliffs and Beachy Head.
 

They contain hundreds of prehistoric earthworks.

The thoroughly modern metropolis of Southampton lies on the edge of the New Forest.










A bustling container port, it was ravaged by wartime bombing raids but has managed to preserve ancient buildings together with sections of its old city walls and gateways.










St. Michael’s is the oldest church here, dating to the time of the Normans, while Tudor House - one of many local museums – was built in the 16th century.
 

 
St. Michael's Church Southampton -
Photo: Rebecca Moon CCL

RMS Titanic Engineers Memorial -
Photo: David Mainwood CCL

The city is blessed with a natural harbour that boasts an unusual double tide, making it suitable for the largest of ships, including some of the world’s luxurious cruise liners.




It was from here that the Titanic set out on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912.




Before that in 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers embarked on their mission to America aboard the Mayflower.




Later English armies gathered in Southampton bound for the momentous Battle of Agincourt.

In June 1944 the city watched on as the Allied fleet set off to invade Normandy.






Sailing in the Solent is only a pastime today, as illustrated by the Southampton Boat Show – the city’s biggest annual event.

Port Solent Marina - Photo: Patrick Gueulle CCL

Spitfire Photo: Clive Warneford CCL

The area also has strong links with aircraft manufacture and it was while working at the local Supermarine factory that the great aircraft pioneer R.J. Mitchell created his peerless Spitfire.




A visit to the The Solent Sky Museum, which has many historic planes on display, is a must-see.

The city of Portsmouth became a major British port only when Henry VII built the world’s first dry dock here.

Its Historic Dockyard is still the jewel in its crown and is home to world famous ships such as The Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860.

The Mary Rose - Henry VIII’s flagship - sank with all 700 hands in 1545 but was miraculously recovered from the ocean in the 1980s.

Mary Rose - Photo: Christine Matthews CCL

Spinnaker Tower - Photo: Hugh Chevallier CCL

The Victory was the flagship of Admiral Nelson – he died on board - while HMS Warrior was the world’s first iron-hulled battleship.







While Portsmouth’s cobbled old town contains hidden gems like its 12th century cathedral, a more modern attraction is the Spinnaker Tower, which soars to a height of over 500 feet.







The UK’s second tallest publicly-accessible building, it offers stunning views over the Solent for those willing to stand on a transparent floor.

The Roman castle of Portchester overlooks the city’s busy harbour while elsewhere in the region Henry VIII constructed other strongholds – including Hurst, Calshot and Netley castles – to remove the threat of French invasion.

Portchester Castle - Photo: Geoff Barker CCL