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County Town: Winchester
Population: 1,585,00
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Area: 1458 Sq miles 3775 Sq k
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Food Legends:Hampshire Watercress
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Knighthood of the Old Green
The Tichborne Dole
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Foul Plague and False Promises
The Ghostly Bike of T.E. Lawrence
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Jane Austens Hampshire
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Cranborne Chase
North Wessex Downs
South Downs
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The Solent

Events

February
Evening of Sporting Entertainment

March
Easter at Exbury
Film Night

April
The Glory of the Garden

May
Alresford Watercress Festival
French Market
HiFi South Festival
May Day Fun at Cranbury Park
Mayfest
medieval knights
The Glory of the Garden

June
Annual Writer's Conference - Festival of Writing
Autojumble and Grand Vintage Show
Hampshire Food Festival
Petal Fall weekend (children free)
Power in the Park
St Cross Fete
St Cross in Bloom
The Garden Show 2009
Unusual Plants Fair

July
A Lavender Experience!
14th Big Wheel Bike
Andover Carnival
Annual Flower Show
Hat Fair
Hedge End Carnival & Gala Show
International Air Show
Lymington Carnival
Netley Marsh Steam & Craft Show
New Forest and Hampshire County Show
Parachute Spectacular & Military Tattoo
Petersfield Artists in Town
Point on the Park
Southampton Garden Festival
The Stansted Proms
Winchester Festival

August
Balloons over Basingstoke
Doggie Fun Day
Eastleigh Festival
Ellingham & Ringwood Show
Navy Days
One Beat
Ringwood Art Society Annual Summer Exhibition

September
A Thought for Food
Alresford Agricultural Show
Beaulieu International Autojumble
Michaelmas Fair
Petersfield Antiques Fair
Southsea Fest
The Stansted Slog
Winchester Open Weekend

October
Alton Word Fest
Emsworth Seafood Week
Great South Run
Halloween at the Spinnaker
Portsmouth & Southsea Festival
Steam in the Gardens
Titchfield Carnival

November
A FESTIVAL OF FIREWORKS, FUN AND FOOD
Big Transport Collectors Fayre
Evening Christmas Fair

December
Basingstoke Santa Jog
Christmas Gala Evenings
Festival of Christmas
Petersfield Christmas Festival
Santa Specials
Spinnaker Tower Festive Fun

Destination of the Month

February 2010: Bristol

Bristol is a wonderful mix of the ancient and the modern, the indoor and the outdoor, making it a brilliant place for a break when ...More
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Hampshire - 437 places to stay

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Principal Towns: Winchester, Portsmouth, Southhampton, Basingstoke, Aldershot
Home to literary legends Jane Austen and Charles Dickens , King Arthur’s round table, chocolate box villages set in beautiful green countryside, two of England’s largest ports, The New Forest , National Park land and a plethora of other remarkable attractions, Hampshire is one of those counties that literally throws everything at you and dares you to be unmoved.

You’ll find this busy county on the south coast of England bordering Dorset , Wiltshire , Berkshire , Surrey and West Sussex. Its county town is Winchester but Portsmouth and Southampton are its main two towns. Most of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, where the Solent joins the English Channel making Portsmouth the UK's only island city. Fareham , Gosport and Havant sort of fill the gap in between the two. Most of its southern coastline is on the stretch of water known as The Solent, meaning that it offers some fantastic maritime points of interest and activites. Keen sailors will be spoilt for choice as the waters around Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight are great for sailing. You can also get excellent potted histories of the area’s naval and marine history by visiting some of the many museums – Portsmouth City Museum and the Royal Naval Museum being the most popular, or better still actually seeing pieces of history in the form The Mary Rose itself - the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world and HMS Victory , the world's oldest commissioned warship.

In between Portsmouth and Southampton you’ll find some of Hampshire's best, cleanest beaches. Hayling Island, is the birthplace of windsurfing, due to the fact the inventor of the windsurfer, Peter Chilvers, actually had first his idea for a board with a sail when he was 12 year old whilst on Hayling Island. It’s also home to plenty of other water-based activities is a great place for the more seaworthy types and other attractive beaches include those at Calshot and Lepe. To get a great birds eye view of Southampton visit Lepe Country Park, which is in the New Forest, where the views take in all the shipping passing in and out of Southampton Water, and sailing boats from Hamble and Cowes. The Royal Victoria Country Park at Netley also overlooks the approaches to the port. Other good beaches are at Milford on Sea and New Milton, opposite the Needles, a dramatic collection chalk outcrops off the Isle of Wight.

If you wanted a slightly more regal viewpoint then you might prefer to take position at one of the castles and forts that have been built over the centuries on the coast to defend the harbours at Southampton and Portsmouth. These include the Norman Portchester Castle which overlooks Portsmouth Harbour, and a series of forts built by Henry VIII including Hurst Castle, situated on a sand spit at the mouth of the Solent , Calshot Castle on another spit at the mouth of Southampton Water, and Netley Castle. There are plenty of more modern attractions and facilities in the town centres of Southampton and Portsmouth, with both being terrific for shopping with new ultra modern complexes in each town. If you’re looking for somewhere inspirational for horse riding , then The New Forest certainly comes in the top ten venues in the UK. Created in 1079 by William I, The New Forest is a former royal hunting area, principally of deer. The area carries forward many of the rural practices conceded by the Crown in past times to local people. The primary of these is the pasturing of ponies, cattle, pigs and donkeys in the open Forest by local ‘commoners’. It is an amazing recreational area for walking and cycling as well as horse riding and has great camping facilities. The Museum and Visitor Centre in Lyndhurst is the place to stop to find out more about the Forest. On your way out of The New Forest, just on the border, you’ll find the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu which is well worth a visit.

Also known as the ancient capital of England, Winchester is most famous for its beautiful cathedral. The second longest building in Europe, Winchester Cathedral was originally built in 1079. It contains fine architecture spanning the 11th to the 16th century and is the burial place of a number of bishops of Winchester, many Anglo-Saxon and later kings including King Canute, as well as Jane Austen. If ancient history interests you then you must, must visit Winchester Castle which is well known for its Great Hall which was built in the 12th century. The Great Hall was rebuilt, between 1222-1235 and is famous for King Arthur's Round Table, which has hung in the hall from 1463. The table actually dates from the 13th century, and as such is not contemporary to Arthur but it is still of considerable historical interest.

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