3 Hours in Winchester

Birthday Adventure 2023 took me to my favorite city – London. However, seeing more of England was an itch I needed to scratch.

Hmm, but where to explore?

I’ve been to Bath, Blackpool, Bristol, Cambridge, Cromer, Lancaster, the Lake District, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich, and Oxford.

Narrowing down the list to Nottingham and Winchester, I settled on Winchester after a fellow traveler, Little Miss Traveller, suggested I might enjoy Winchester.

So that’s how I ended up exploring the Ancient Capital of England.

GETTING HERE

There were a few trains from London Waterloo to Winchester. However, the rush hour trains were double the cost, so I decided the 1005 was the best choice at $18. Unfortunately, the same rush hour predicament hounded my return. Thus, the 1518 train was the last train before rush hour prices kicked in.

Luckily, my train left the station on time and arrived in Winchester at 1140. This gave me 3 hours and 38 minutes to explore the city.

It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get to the city centre. Luckily, the Visit A City app was working, and helped guide me to Winchester’s must-see attractions.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Beautiful Cathedral. The €12.50 entrance fee caught me by surprise, but well worth it to see this splendid and historic place. The history of the Winchester Bible and the library was fascinating. The crypt was spooky, and the view of the ceiling was breathtaking.

JANE AUSTEN’S GRAVE

Seeing Jane Austen’s grave and memorial plaque was the highlight. She was buried in the Cathedral in 1817 at the age of 41, her original memorial stone made no mention of her books.

KINGS AND SCRIBES: BIRTH OF A NATION

The Kings and Scribes: The Birth of a Nation exhibit was interesting. The exhibit shows the importance of the cathedral during times from Alfred the Great until just after the Norman Conquest.

Twelve English kings are said to be buried in Winchester. This allows Winchester to claim to be the ‘first Royal Mausoleum.’

WILLIAM WALKER: THE DIVER WHO SAVED THE CATHEDRAL

Learning about William Walker was intriguing. Walker, a deep-sea diver, worked under water every day for six years placing bags of concrete. He worked in complete darkness, because the sediment suspended in the water was impenetrable to light. His work enabled groundwater to be pumped out, which allowed bricklayers to restore the damaged walls. The result saved the cathedral from collapsing as it sank slowly into the soft ground on which it was built.

JOAN OF ARC STATUE

Seeing a Joan of Arc Statue in an English church truly surprised me. Quickly grabbing my phone and googling the statute, I learned she stands beside the entrance of the Lady Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, diagonally opposite the tomb of Cardinal Henry Beaufort, who was present to observe some of the heresy trial sessions. Legend states he wept as he viewed the horrible scene as she was burned at the stake.

WINCHESTER CITY MUSEUM

The Winchester City Museum was next on my adventure. The museum takes guests on a journey exploring the city’s origins, Anglo‑Saxon glory, Jane Austen’s last journey, to the present day.

Very unique museum and I had too much fun acting out different roles when I should have been taking photos. Oh well, next visit I guess.

BUTTERCROSS MONUMENT

The Winchester’s Buttercross Monument is located in the High Street and dates back to the 15th century. Twelve religious figures and saints can be found on the Cross, including Mary and Saint Bartholomew.

The High Street was at one time the centre of the commercial world. The cross is placed on five steps, which may have been used by market traders many centuries ago. Cheese, eggs, milk, and of course butter, were all sold from the steps of the cross to the Winchester populace.

THE IVY

I had 75 minutes left before I had to catch the train. By now, my tummy was growling and I settled on The Ivy Winchester Brasserie for a nice lunch.

What a nice place. Customer Service was phenomenal, despite the busyness of the place. I ordered the Chargrilled, Thinly Beaten, Grass-Fed Rump Steak, served with a fried free-range hen’s egg and thick cut chips, and Zingy Tropical Fruit Sorbet with charred lime, pomegranate and a white chocolate sauce from the 2-course set menu, and a pot of coffee.

The pot of coffee was served hot and was good. The steak was edible and the eggs were nice. This, plus the sorbet hit the spot, keeping my tummy happy until my return to London later that day. If I’m in Winchester again, I’ll be certain to stop by for another meal.