Winchester is the ancient capital of England, in the time of King Alfred, the king who burnt the cakes!! There is a big statue of him there.
We started out by taking the ferry across to the mainland. We were lucky enough to get WightLink's new eco-ferry, Victoria of the Wight.
Harry from Baboon HQ and Mikey from Lion HQ looked out at the port of Fishbourne on the island.
We had an uneventful journey and by the time we arrived Mikey was starving. We had a cheese and pickle panini in the cafe eighteen71, in the Guildhall. It is called that because the foundation stone of the Guildhall was laid in 1871.
If you are interested in this ancient king of our nation you can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_the_Great He is an interesting chap.
We booked into our hotel the Royal Hotel Winchester, which was built in Charles II's time, as the home of the Bishop of Winchester, very close to the cathedral.
It was a real treat to put our feet up, before we went to wander around and have a look at the cathedral.
The cathedral was started during Saxon times, but there are also Norman features, as it took centuries to build. There is more information about the history of this wonderful building here: https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/our-history/
At some point you may feel that this is a pizza tour of Winchester. We went to Three Joe's pizza, near the cathedral. We recommend it very highly. Not only did we have pizza and beer, but also ...
Eaton Mess sundae. Delicious!!
It is not our habit to take photos of bollards, but all the bollards around the cathedral were very nicely decorated, for various charities, this one was for young carers.
The next morning after breakfast, that we were too busy eating to remember to take photos of, we set out for a busy day. First, we walked up the town to visit the great hall and castle.
We found the memorial, above to American soldiers who fought in Europe in the world wars. It was very moving. The picture below is the great hall.
This is the inside of the Great Hall of the castle, with King Arthur's round table on the wall. It has been identified now as a representation of the round table, but it is still quite fascinating to see. For more information about King Arthur: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/winchester-round-table
We decided to walk out along the River Itchen to St Cross.
On our way down through the town we managed to take a picture of the Butter Cross in the market place. There was quite a good market every day in Winchester.
Mini-Paddington found a small part of the original Roman city wall. Its just a small section remaining, by the river.
This is near the beginning of the river walk, you can see a fairly old mill in the background, it is flats now, but the speed of the flow of the river is ideal for milling.
Detouring around by the cathedral, Harry introduced himself to this very important gentleman, William Walker. You may feel that his is strangely dressed. However, he is dressed for a very important job. Winchester is in a valley and there is a lot of water around the cathedral. At one time it was found to be sinking, and could have been lost. Mr Walker, known in Winchester as "The Diver", using his diving skills, went down into the foundations of the cathedral and underpinned it, to save it from sinking. For more of his story see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(diver). He is a very important man to Winchester and even has a pub named after him.
A good walk needs cakes or scones. Harry found a big selection in the Cathedral Refectory.
On the way out to the water meadows and the walk to St Cross, we passed the famous Regency, English author, Jane Austen's house. She actually did not live in Winchester for long, her father was a vicar in the dioceses, and when she was ill she came to Winchester and died there. She is buried in the cathedral.
We also came across this interesting, tiny church, St Swithuns, it is over the road. St Swithun is the patron saint of Winchester Cathedral and this little church is also dedicated to him. It is just outside the cathedral close. St Swithun is thought to have a lot of influence over the British weather. He has been doing a good job in recent years. For more information about him: https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/famous-people/st-swithun/
We walked through St Faith's water meadow, which is very beautiful.
We carried on to St Cross. We wanted to visit there because our person's grandmother worked there for a short time, as a nurse and our person remembers a visit there when they were very young.
The Hospital of St Cross is one of the oldest Almshouse in England. It was founded in the 1130s by Henri Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Conqueror and brother of King Stephen. The purpose was to provide accommodation for: "Thirteen poor men, feeble and so reduced in strength that they can scarcely, or not at all support themselves without aid".
In the 15th century another Bishop of Winchester added a second part for "noble poverty". The gentlemen we saw there seemed quite healthy and happy and they live in a beautiful place. They wear gowns that identify them. We went around the public areas.
The medieval kitchen was interesting. How did anyone every manage to cook anything there!! Just look at it!!
Luckily they have better facilities now. We explored below the kitchen and found a bit of a gargoyle and the secret of why the men who lived there seemed so happy!!
They seemed to have quite a few barrels of beer!!
We got back to the cathedral and Mikey found this interesting snack van. However, we went to the cathedral refectory for lunch.
Mini-Paddington nearly made a big mistake and joined the Benedictine order, like these bears. It was all a misunderstanding and when he found out they did not have marmalade he backed off pretty quickly!!
Could have been a big mistake and Mini-Paddington needs to take more care what he agrees to!!
A very delicious toasty!!
Then we went for another walk, the other way along the river, and found some interesting meadows and moors.
This was a lovely managed wild area with interesting paths and views.
Back at Cafe eighteen71 for tea and Mikey found some more interesting cakes.
Finally we had our evening meal, at ASK pizza in Winchester, it was very nice, of course.
So it does seem to be a bit of a pizza tour!! Well we would say Winchester centre has lots and lots of lunch places, far too many to choose from!! However, there were not so many mid-priced dinner places, with decent veggie options, apart from pizza places. There was a Nepalese restaurant, which we wish we had tried, but we did not find too much else. Meat eaters would be fine. However, we would definitely recommend a visit and a pizza at Three Joes!!
