Mucky Duck

So, my last post noted that The White Swan had closed, it now appears to be in the process of re opening as The Mucky Duck.

Selling itself as a sports pub, not sure what that will mean, Sky Sports on full blast? We'll see! At least it's not closed down completely which is always a sad sight to see.

Another one bites the dust?

It looks like The White Swan pub in Hyde Street has closed. I have been in the pub a few times as it is not far from where I live, but I don't think it was as popular as some of the other pubs in Hyde, such as The King Alfred and the Hyde Tavern. Maybe it will re-open, as The Willow Tree has?

More Olympic Torch!

More photos from the Olympic cavalcade that passed by Hyde Street in Winchester yesterday.

Olympic Torch in Winchester!

I was amazingly excited today when the torch came past the end of my road, even teenage son got out of bed for it!

There was a large cavalcade of police motorcycles, bikes, cars, publicity trucks etc and finally the flame, and it passed so quickly! I'm not sure that the person carrying the torch was anyone famous (despite my son saying 'It's Orlando Bloom' !)

If you're feeling terribly bored here's a video of the route from Reading to Winchester, with the last few minutes of it coming through Hyde in Winchester.


torch relay video

Keeping fit

I think this is part of the Forces Fit who run outdoor military fitness classes delivered by serving/ex serving members of the armed forces. I needed a nice sit down with a cup of tea after the exertion of watching them!

Old & New lights in Hyde

This old style street light in Hyde is actually newer than its modern looking neighbour

Boot scraper

An old fashioned boot scraper seen outside a house in Hyde. Sorry for lack of postings I have been away last week with work & at other times just downright lazy!

Houses of Hyde

These houses in Hyde Street have 4 stories by the looks of it, as you can see the basement 'window' at street level. One of these properties sold about a year ago for £345000. These houses have a flint and brick facade which quite a few houses in the Winchester area have.

Rugby

Over at the North Walls Recreation Park we have a rugby pitch for the Winchester Rugby Club. The club has many teams, senior, kids, teens, girls. The club was founded in 1929, initially based in Kings Worthy (a village just to the north of Winchester) until 1971 when they purchased their current 10 acre ground.

Football Ground

 

This is Winchester City Football Club's ground taken yesterday evening.The club was formed in 1884. The club's nickname is The Capitals and comes from Winchester being the ancient capital of Wessex and then England, before some place called London took over!

Sad Sunflowers

Spotted these sunflowers with their heads down at the Edington Road allotments. I am on the waiting list to get one of these allotments, and there are 70 people ahead of me...! I was on the way to watch Winchester City Football Club whose ground is nearby, unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photos from the match due to my camera battery expiring soon after this shot!

Winchester in Bloom

Winchester is looking very floral at the moment and that's because it is the Winchester in Bloom competition. The judging has now finished but the results won't be announced until October (not sure why the wait!) Here is my local pub the King Alfred look very flowery. The only thing I notice is that I think the shops, pubs & restaurants of Winchester must have bought their flowers in bulk as they all seem to be the same types shown here!

King Alfred

This was taken in the lovely pub garden of my local 'The King Alfred' last weekend during the sunshine. It's a nice pub in the area of Hyde in Winchester. It serves good food and is also a bed and breakfast.

Hyde Abbey Garden

Hyde Abbey Garden, Winchester's Golden Jubilee project, was opened on 2nd June 2003 to mark the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The garden is a to commemorate the last known resting place of King Alfred the Great, his Queen Ealswith and their son Edward the Elder. The 3 stone slabs mark the site of the 3 royal graves and the garden itself marks out the medieval church of Hyde Abbey which was founded in 1110 and dissolved and demolished in 1538. Hyde Abbey Garden leads onto the North Walls Park

Hyde Abbey House

Hyde Abbey House was built was built in the 17th Century. In around 1760 it became a prep school for boys known as Hyde Abbey School and was recognised as one of the finest classical schools of its time. George Canning who was briefly the British Prime Minister in 1827, Lord Lyons a British Naval Commander during the Crimean War and Henry Sewell 1st Premier of New Zealand were all educated here. The school closed in 1833 and from 1950 to 1975 was a hotel The Hyde Abbey House Hotel. The building is now used as offices for a French pharmaceutical company.

On a personal note an unusual covenant in the deeds of my house mean I am responsible for maintaining part of the old garden wall of this building! My current maintenance programme involves looking at the wall and saying "please don't fall down!" - it's worked so far!

Roads of Hyde

Here in Hyde many of the street names reflect the history of the area. Some of the prices of these unassuming Victorian terraces are eyewatering, around the half a million mark!

Hyde Street at night

Hyde is an area of Winchester to the north of the city. It's my favourite part, but I'm biased because it's where I live!

Ex Pubs

A comment from Paul at Leeds Daily Photo made me think about the pubs that have now disappeared in Winchester. Here on the corner of Hyde Close and Hyde Street is the old Prince of Wales pub. It had been a pub since before 1880 but closed in 2003. Here's a photo of the pub when it was open. In 1902 there were 132 pubs in Winchester, today there are 45, still quite a few, so hopefully visitors to Winchester will find one they like!

Bridge to no where

This bridge is over Nun's Stream in the Hyde area of Winchester. Obviously it had a use once, but now it doesn't go anywhere, other than into a hedge!

For more Sunday bridges see San Francisco Bay Daily Photo's Sunday Bridges

Old and New in Hyde

In Hyde we have the ruins of Hyde Abbey. Built into part of the old walls we see the great idea from the 1960s of incorporaring some totally out of place housing into the Abbey ruins - Nice!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Abbey