I am wondering everyones thoughts on Winchester. Is it worth going? It looks quaint. We are thinking of combining Hampton Court Palace with Winchester. What do you think?

Winchester makes a good trip with the Cathederal and the Castle - Home to one of King Arthur's Round tables. Getting to do both Hampton Court and Winchester on the same day may need some intersting logistics unless you have a car! Winchester is on the main rail-line from London Waterloo and takes an hour on the fast train. Service in very regular. I live near Winchester.

As Nick says - you'd really need to drive. If you have a car then by all means drive to Hampton Court and stay until after lunch - eat in the cafe in the gardens. Then drive to Winchester in the afternoon. You may be able to catch Evensong at the Cathedral.<BR><BR>But without a car you would have a very difficult time so you'd have to pick one or the other.

If you are a Jane Austen fan then Winchester is a great stop.

Eric,<BR><BR>I like to recommend visiting Winchester and Salisbury as a pair. They are not far apart geographically, but offer two extremes of the spectrum of English cathedrals. Salisbury Cathedral is very coherent, with a tall profile emphasized by it's spire (the highest in Britain I believe). Winchester is a jumble of architectural styles, and has a long, almost squat shape that contrasts with Salisbury's height. (I think Winchester has the longest Nave in England?).<BR><BR>Travel times:<BR>London Waterloo -&gt; Winchester: 1hr (no changes)<BR>Winchester -&gt; Salisbury: 1hr (0 or 1 changes)<BR>Salisbury -&gt; London Waterloo: 1.5hr (no changes<BR><BR>Easily doable as a day-trip from London.<BR><BR>Dave<BR><BR>PS: Hampton Court to Winchester takes about 1.5 hours, with a change in either Surbiton or Clapham Junction. Seems like this would also be doable.

just had to jump in here. We are planning to go to Winchester, too. We have B&B accomodations in the New Forest in June, and want to drive over and spend the following day seeing: Salisbury, Stonehenge, Winchester and Jane Austens house (can not remember, is it Chawton?). On the map it looks like a big circle. I have no idea if we can see all these places in one day. Does this sound remotely doable? I know Jane Austen is buried at Winchester - are there any other notable landmarks for an Austen fan?

Marita: Yes, That is a doable loop from the New Forest. Just keep aware of the opening hours at the Austen home(varies from day to day) and be sure to be there at least 1/2 hour before closing time.

Winchester is my home town, so I'll try to help....<BR><BR>Jane Austens Grave is in the Cathedral (Northern side of the nave about half way up - a balck marble (?) tombstone on the floor).<BR><BR>She spent the last days of her life in a house in College St (which is a private home, being staff accommodation for Winchester College - it was the geography masters house in my day). There is an obvious plaque to mark the house.<BR><BR>I think there is just about enough stuff in Winchester to take up a whole day. I would recommend:<BR><BR>The Cathedral<BR>The College (my old skool!)<BR>The Great Hall and Arthurs Round table (which you can see on this interweb thingy at http://www.winchester.gov.uk/visiting_winchester/<BR><BR>The Westgate museum (get them to show you the grafitti by King Charles I who was imprisoned there)<BR><BR>St Cross via the Watermeadows and the college.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.

Thanks, David; thanks, Janis!<BR>This helps! <BR>I've printed notes from a website on Winchester cathedral that describes some self-guided tours - http://home.clara.net/reedhome/winchester/main.htm <BR><BR>I'll add your notes to that and be ready to go!<BR><BR>Marita

To David West: We will be doing a day trip to Winchester from New Forest area (Lymington) in Sept. I hear it a nice drive from Lymington via the Forest roads. We plan on seeing the Norman Abbey in Romsey. Is this too much to do in a day by including Avington (thatched village), Compton, and Salisbury.

I was in Winchester in June '01 and had a great time. A lot to do just in the town itself. <BR><BR>In addition to what others have mentioned I liked the ruin of Wolvesey castle and walking along the river's edge.<BR><BR>There are 5 military museums too.<BR><BR>The King's Royal Hussars Museum in Winchester<BR>The Light Infantry Museum<BR>The Gurkha Museum<BR>The Royal Green Jackets Museum<BR>The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum<BR><BR>I only managed to see the Gurkha & Light infantry ones. Not very big, but interesting to see.<BR><BR>The web site David West mentions is very thorough. I used it to plan my two nights there.<BR>

For Marge,<BR>It is indeed a nice drive from Lymington to Romsey via the New Forest towns of Brockenhurst and Lymington. Hope you enjoy visiting my home town! If you like gardens and have the time The Sir Harold Hillier Arboretum just outside Romsey is worth a visit. I think trying to fit Salisbury in on your day trip would be too much,and would mean you would see little of what either Winchester or Salisbury has to offer. I would just stick to Winchester and if you have a free day plan a seperate trip to Salisbury.

Opps! That should be Brockenhurst & Lyndhurst not Lymington!

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ttt