Fulling Mill Cottage

On a walk around Alresford, a pretty market town close to Winchester, we came across the very pretty Fulling Mill cottage on the River Arle. It dates from the 13th Century. It fell into disuse as mill in the 19th century and became derelict. It was renovated in the 1950s and is now a private house.

The fulling of cloth was a process to tighten and shrink cloth and mills constructed for this purpose were called Fulling Mills, hence the cottage's name!

Trusty Servant

On my recent trip to Minstead in the New Forest I came across The Trusty Servant inn. I know this 'creature' is the emblem of Winchester College and read on a plaque next to the pub a 16th century saying believed to have originated from Winchester College in the days when pupils at the college had personal servants

"A trusty servants portrait you would see
This emblematic figure well survey
The porkers snout not nice in diet shows
The padlock shut no secret he'll disclose
Patient the Ass his masters wrath will bear
Swiftness in his errand the stags feet declare
Loaded is left hand apt to labour saith
The vest his neatness; the open hand his faith;
Girt with his sword, his shield upon his arm,
Himself and master he'll protect from harm"

New Forest

OK, so this isn't Winchester, but the New Forest is a short drive away from city life here and last weekend I went to Minstead in the New Forest. I love the way the ponies (and cows) just do their thing! Wander here, go down this road, stop here to eat some grass, just roaming free!

Hillier Gardens

This isn't Winchester, but I think there's no harm in occasionally straying outside of the city limits, especially as I've been rather lazy in posting, so I'm going with the idea of a post on something is better than a post on nothing! So this is Hillier Gardens between Winchester and Romsey. It is 180 acres of gardens, with a variety of different areas, very pretty, and probably even nicer when all the flowers are in bloom

St Mary's Church Easton

This is St Mary's Church in Easton, a pretty village just outside Winchester. St Mary’s is a Norman church probably dating from the twelfth century.

Walks from winchester

Walking the Itchen Way trail between Winchester & Easton

South Downs

This view is looking from West Hill cemetary across to the South Downs, with the spire of St Thomas' Church. The South Downs recently became a national park in April and stretches from Winchester to Eastbourne.

Avington Park

This is Avington Park in the village of Avington which is about 5 miles NE of Winchester. The house originally belonged to the Cathedral of Winchester until King Henry VIII granted the estate to Edmund Clerke. In the mid 17th centuary it was owned by George Brydges, Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles II. He enlarged and updated the house to accommodate the King and Nell Gwynne.

The estate was sold in 1847 to Sir John Shelley, brother of the poet, and sold again to the Hickson family in 1953 who still own it today. Avington Park is available for weddings, corporate event, filming and is occasionally open to the public.

There was recently a crime committed at the property when a sundial worth around £100000 was stolen.

Easton

I was out on a bike ride recently and passed through the pretty village of Easton. The village is 2¾ miles North East of Winchester. Although technically this isn't the city of Winchester, but the village does lie in the district of Winchester. I stopped and took a photo of this pretty thatched cottage, and there were plenty of them in the village.

USS George H.W. Bush

If you look on a map then you know that this cannot be Winchester, but I feel I am allowed artistic licence to stretch our city's boundaries when something interesting is happening nearby and this is our nearest seaside and still Hampshire! Head south east from Winchester for about 20 miles and you will come to Stokes Bay, and right now anchored out there is the USS George H.W. Bush American Aircraft carrier, the world's most powerful warship. The ship carries in excess of 70 aircraft and 5,300 sailors and aircrew, it has 2 nuclear reactors and can operate for over 20 years without refueling if required. It is too large to drop anchor in Portsmouth harbour, hence sitting outside it in Stokes Bay.

The ship has just finished Saxon Warrior one of the biggest exercises in UK waters in recent history along with the Royal Navy, RAF and other NATO forces. Myself & my colleges were involved in the exercise and some of them had a visit onboard the ship yesterday.

The ship is also joined by American destroyer USS Truxtun and a Spanish frigate bringing the total number of sailors ashore to almost 6,000. Apparently in Portsmouth 1000s of extra pints of lager have been shipped into the city with pubs opening early and extra staff being drafted in!

Royal Wedding

So this isn't really a photo from Winchester is it... but couldn't let this moment pass without incorporating it in my blog!

Infact Winchester does have a small claim to fame in all the Royal Wedding fever - according to the Guardian Newspaper Winchester "could justifiably claim to be the most patriotic town in the UK with 23 applications for Royal Wedding street parties".

Personally, along with the majority of people in the UK, I like having a royal family with all the history attached to it and I hope William & Kate will be very happy together.