Autumn in Hampshire, England (Oct 23)
We don’t often get to spend time exploring the local area, so during October we thought we’d not travel too far, but explore some of the local villages and towns close to my Southampton home. Hampshire is a beautiful county of England, and much overlooked.
Stockbridge and surrounding area
With the weather being so nice, we headed off to explore Stockbridge and the surrounding area. we decided to head there via the many B roads that weave along and across the River Test.
The one thing that we commented on was the abundance of thatched cottages in the places we visited. Now I usually associate this house design with the county of Dorset, but we lost count of the number of beautifully kept old buildings in and around this area. Village after village, row after row.
As we crossed the Test at Lockford, we stopped to watch the fly fishermen and caught sight of an odd structure built across the river. We later learned that this contained eel traps, something I didn’t expect given the fish this river is renowned for is trout.
One thing many people don’t realise is that there are only about 200 Chalk Stream rivers in the entire world, and 85% of them are in England. The Test River is one of them and so attracts a lot of fisherman, although the licences are not inexpensive.
Whilst here, we popped into the Longstock Farm Shop on the Leckford Estate, which is a Waitrose owned Cafe and Nursery. It was here that we saw a kaleidoscope of butterflies, Red Admirals, Comma and Peacocks in their hundreds swarming around the last Buddliea flowers of the season. We popped into the shop and bought a Waitrose special pre cooked meal for the evening.
On arrival at Stockbridge we parked up at the far end of the town (which isn’t much more than a single street with buildings on either side) and walked its length. It’s a quaint old market town that goes back more than a thousand years. I think the population here is only about 750, so tourists and passers by make up the numbers.
After nosing around the fishing tackle and art shops, the final stop of the day brought us to the Kudos Cafe which sits alongside (and above) one of the many tributaries of the Test. It was a lovely place to unwind with a coffee and snack before heading home.
Kimbridge Barn and Mottisfont
Our next stop was a tiny little barn located a few miles south of Mottisfont which serves up snacks and more hearty meals as well as simple tea and cake. It’s a little off the beaten track and the kind of place you’d be unlikely to stumble across unless you knew it was there. Indeed, despite it being not far from my home, I never knew it existed until I cycled past it a few weeks earlier. I decided at the time that I’d bring Emma back here. Coffee for Emma and a huge pot of chai tea went down a treat!
The barn is located in the heart of the Test valley which is criss crossed by chalk stream rivers, bursting with trout and grayling.
Just a short walk/or cycle along the “Monarch Way” is St Andrews Church at Mottisfont village. The Monarchs Way wasn’t shown on any of the standard ‘apps’ I had downloaded on the phone, so I had to search for it separately. Strictly speaking I think the Monarchs Way it a footpath rather than a cycle path, although I need to do some more research on that. It’s a 615 mile long and criss crosses almost a dozen English counties and follows the escape route that King Charles II took after his defeat in battle in 1651 at the Battle of Worcestershire (one of the wars of the three kingdoms). Twas nice getting a little lesson in history whilst exploring the region.
Winchester
We headed off for an evening stroll around Winchester, Englands old (Wessex) capital city. Autumn is a great time to come here, less tourists and seasonal shoppers, so the streets were empty. It helped that there was a rugby game on at the same time, which had drawn a lot of people into the bars.
We headed for the Bakers arms for a pint of Guinness (well Ireland had just lost their game), before heading off back to Southampton for the evening.
Southampton
Final stop – a mini pub crawl around a local few ale houses, all within walking distance.
