Winchester, Hampshire UK

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been remade many times by Hollywood (eg. Camelot, First Knight) and when we found out that the 'Round Table' actually existed in Winchester, we put it down on our 'must visit' list.
Winchester has a historical link as the capital city of Wessex (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms) and also of England until William the Conqueror moved it to London. The city is linked to King Alfred the Great: his statue is located in the main street and the author: Jane Austen who is buried in the cathedral.


Travel to Winchester
The journey to Winchester took just under two hours via South West trains from London Waterloo station. The cost of the train tickets was cheap - a Spring special of 15GBP return per person for off-peak (ie. weekend) fares. We visited on a Sunday as a day trip out and the train was full of people heading to the seaside as the weather was usually warm for April.

Spring flowers out in Winchester

Exploring Winchester
On arrival at Winchester, we walked through the historic Old Town where famous figure: Alfred the Great's statue stands in the middle of the High Street. He is famous for his role in battles against the Viking (Danish) invaders.

Statue of King Alfred the Great

Plaque explaining the history of his reign

Farmer's Market
The Winchester Farmer's market is one of the largest in the county of Hampshire and is located along a pedestrian path and carpark. The stalls were selling a mixture of fresh produce and cooked food. We ate a scotch egg and hamburger as a morning snack.

Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester was one of the most powerful positions in England. With territory that spanned up to Southwark in present day south London, it was wealthy and had many historical homes. We have walked past the remains of one of the palaces many times next to the Clink Prison in London Bridge, behind Borough Market.

Property owned by Bishop of Winchester

Medieval Buildings

Winchester has a number of historic buildings dating back to medieval times. The street layout reflects the history of the town, although some areas have been renovated to make way for modern developments.

Old Stone archway and wall

Historic timber house

Country gardens and streams
Running through Winchester are a number of streams that are legacy from when the town grew prosperous due to the wool trade and mills. The streams empty into the River Itchen and we spotted small trout in the waters as we walked past.

Pretty streams in the urban areas

Streams in the countryside

Spotting trout

Winchester Cathedral Refectory
Winchester Cathedral was another historic site visited on this trip. The Cathedral is the longest Gothic building in Europe. Dating back to 642 AD, the site has been renovated many times. It has a very pretty roof (currently part of a community fund raising campaign for repairs), stained glass windows and statues.

The Cathedral also holds the remains (mortuary chests) of many early English monarchs including Canute (King of England, Norway and Denmark) and William II.

Jane Austen

The name: Jane Austen needs no introduction. Author of famous romantic books: 'Sense and Sensibility'; and 'Pride and Prejudice', she has a connection to Winchester as the house she lived in prior to her death is in town; and she is buried in Winchester Cathedral with a memorial and tombstone in the photos below.

Drawing of the house in Winchester that Jane Austen lived in
prior to her death.

Rick Stein Restaurant
The day before our visit we had booked in a lunch reservation at Rick Stein, the celebrity chef's restaurant in Winchester. We had watched Rick Stein's cooking shows on BBC iPlayer and had wanted to eat at his restaurants in Padstow, Cornwall. However, Cornwall was never a place that we managed to visit in the four years that we have been in the UK. At the restaurant, Mei had the curry (we had watched his travel series cooking around India) and Olie ate the fish (he is known for his seafood). After drinking two types of wine and feeling merry, we continued our sightseeing around town.

Front of the Rick Stein restaurant

Entree of oysters

Winchester Castle

Walking towards the medieval Great Hall, we passed by the remains of Winchester Castle - a fortification that was built in the 11th century but now only ruins of the defense system and the Great Hall remain.

Stairs to see excavated ruins from Winchester Castle

Medieval Great Hall and the Round Table
The Great Hall dates back to the 13th century and was used as a place of assembly and legal judgement. It is a large stone building with an exhibition inside about the Round Table, the tabletop itself hangs high on the wall.

The table is 5.5 metres in diameter, made of English oak and weighs 1500kg. It was painted with the Tudor rose during the 1500's and has a place for 24 knights to sit around it.

Sign explaining the myths and legends associated
with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Olie standing in front of the Round Table

After viewing the Round Table we walked back the station and caught an earlier train home to London A great day out learning more about English history, myth and legend.

Next blog post:

Belfast, Northern Ireland

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