Top Things to do in Hampshire
Top Hotels in Hampshire
10 Hidden Gems Things to do in Hampshire That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Hampshire, United Kingdom including Steamship Shieldhall, New Forest National Park, Ringwood Brewery, Hensting Alpacas, Pennybridge Farm Alpacas, Highclere Castle, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Solent Sky Museum, Romsey Abbey.
Restaurants in Hampshire
1. Steamship Shieldhall
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 286 reviews
The Steamship Shieldhall is the largest working steam ship in Britain. A member of the National Historic Fleet she serves as a sea going tribute to Britain's maritime heritage. As a passenger you too can experience the golden age of steam by booking on an excursion or visiting her in Southampton.
Reviewed By Nath74370 - Guildford, United Kingdom
The 2 of us enjoyed a fantastic time onboard the Shieldhall thanks to its amazing team of knowledgeable and friendly volunteers working in the engine room, on the bridge, at the shop/restaurant, on deck including a commentator on all landmarks we passed . They made a huge impression on my son who is a typical 'teen'. The vessel is very stable and I did not feel seasick, nor did I see the 3 hours pass by as we spent our time visiting the engine room as well as the bridge and every other part of the ship. We had a fab time! Suitable for e very age group.
2. New Forest National Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,810 reviews
The New Forest National Park is truly unique. It’s a ‘world capital’ for wildlife with a huge diversity of rare plants and animals– one of the reasons why it was made a National Park in 2005. A place of outstanding natural beauty, the unique landscape is shaped by the grazing of ponies, cattle and pigs that roam freely. These animals may appear wild, but they are owned by people called commoners. One of the last places in southern England to offer a sense of wildness and tranquillity, it’s a wonderful area to explore on foot, horseback, or by bike. Indeed William the Conqueror, who set aside the ‘New Forest’ for hunting more than 900 years ago, would probably recognise much of it today.
Reviewed By Allwyna - Geneva, Switzerland
An amazing place nestled in Southern England .. Some of the closer town which boost of scenic boutique hotels are Lyndhurst, Burley and Romsey... The entire forest is absolutely scenic, stunning and lush.. you could easily see grazing Horse, cattle and deers.. Surely a perfect get away from London as it’s just a 2 hours drive and offers you a perfect relaxing moment to create memories to cherish. Plenty of places to visit if you intend to relax, rejuvenate, organize a team or family gathering, wedding plans or just want to hike by yourself to spent a me time secluded from the rest of the world.., I spent my 2 nights at White Buck Burley (separate review uploaded).. Their are many great restaurant options around town but surely recommend to drive down as having a car or bike is important... Enjoy and live your life...
3. Ringwood Brewery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 679 reviews
Reviewed By 173louiset - Wisbech, United Kingdom
We went on a 6.30pm tour with Vincent and John and we were made very welcome. John was very informative about the history of Ringwood and instantly gave everyone a half pint of their excellent beer and then Vincent took us on a tour of the building, talking us through the brewing process. As my husband is a keen beer drinker we have been on several of these tours, but this was the best. It was explained step by step and we learnt a lot. We especially enjoyed tasting the barley in various stages and looking at the barrel process. After our tour we went back to John in the pub who talked through the different beers and generously handed out more to taste. I also had a go at pulling a pint. We are a varied group from 17 to 73 and we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. At the end we were given our Ringwood glasses and a bottle of their tasty beer. After the tour we were given time to buy anything from the shop. John and Vincent were both knowledgeable and friendly and we didn't feel rushed at all, it felt like a nice evening at the local pub!!
4. Hensting Alpacas
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 336 reviews
Come and Join us here in Otterbourne Hampshire, when the weather is good we like to be outside trekking or walking Alpacas. This allows you the general public to come and get up close to these beautiful animals, hear them hum to each other, feel how soft their fleece is and look into their big brown eyes! It also serves us a purpose as we get them used to people and being handled on the halters,
Reviewed By 541amandat - Manchester, United Kingdom
Visited henstings this a.m. for my bday gift experience, & it was truly amazing! I enjoyed all aspects off the keepers role, as well as the nice bits included. I got to bottle feed a baby alpaca, handfeed older ones, plus llamas, and take many photos of my lovely morning. I walked pearl, and learned so much about these lovely animals. My day was made so much nicer by the lovely staff who are all so nice. A special mention to katrina who made my morning as an 'apprentice' fun, and i will definately come back again soon. Xx
5. Pennybridge Farm Alpacas
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 172 reviews
Reviewed By R381XXmiket - Fleet, United Kingdom
This was a fantastic, although quite unusual, way to spend a morning in the middle of Autumn. The main reason for visiting this activity was because one of my daughters has been obsessed with Llamas and Alpacas (is there really much difference?) for a very long time. At this point any of you imagining that this is in any way "cute" and thinking of an 8-year-old girl loving these animals then you should prepare yourself for the news that she is in fact 22! Nonetheless, love them she did and is, alarmingly, now even more besotted after a happy 2 hours spent among her new 'friends'. The farm is well set up with a surprisingly large fleet (herd?) of Alpacas. We were expecting maybe 10 and there must have been over 100. Not only that, they come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colour schemes and are imbued with many different personalities and characters. The owners / Alpaca Keepers were interesting and knowledgeable and clearly love their fluffy headed and amusing population. Impressively, they knew the names of each and every craeture and some of them looked very similar; at least to my untrained eye. Under clear blue skies on a typically crisp British weather morning, the experience started with an introductory talk in which we learned everything you ever wanted to know about Alpacas and, for some people, a number of things that you probably didn't want to know. We then witnessed feeding time, met various groups of animals of different ages and genders before moving on to the highlight which was to walk your very own Alpaca (well technically one on a temporary loan) around a circuit of the farm ……….. on a lead! Ours was called Clyde and he was quite aloof. Overall the morning was a mixture of fun and education and the, significantly larger than I was expecting, crowd all seemed to enjoy themselves. There was definitely an element of the 'feel good factor' and we certainly left in brighter spirits than we had arrived in. Logistically the facilities are fairly basic; the car park is quite small, there is only one loo which resulted in the inevitable queueing and the anticipation of enjoying the promised free tea and coffee was somewhat hindered by the hot water running out. At the end of the walking phase the staff were very happy for people to stay and ask questions and there is a small shop with some Alpaca Merch’. I have a feeling that my daughter will become too attached to her new Alpaca sweatshirt for someone of her age. As if Alpacas, free hot drinks, sunshine and Merch’ wasn’t enough, there were also trampolining goats but that’s a story for another time.
6. Highclere Castle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,288 reviews
Designed by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, this is considered to be one of the finest Victorian homes still in existence, which houses fine furniture and works of art. Today, the Castle is the home of the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and is known around the world as the real home of 'Downton Abbey'.
Reviewed By StreetwiseSmart - Gunnislake, United Kingdom
Highclare is a terrific place to visit - really well organised, super friendly & informative guides, gift shop with quality and fairly priced items, and wonderful maintained grounds and gardens. In today’s ever more irritating Covid World, all necessary safety measures were in place without being intrusive or restrictive to our visit. Highclare itself is beautifully presented, with a balance of family history alongside Downton Abbey lore. Cannot rate highly enough.
7. Royal Navy Submarine Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 897 reviews
Reviewed By I5173IMsimons
My wife and I were lucky enough to get an annual pass to the Portsmouth dock yard museum and decided to visit the submarine museum. We were given a tour of HMS Alliance, which we both thoroughly enjoyed and it was my first time inside a submarine, which I found fascinating, informative and I felt privileged to see how submariners live at sea to guard our nation. We had a nice coffee from the dockside cafe and were directed to a warm room to have it, after which we went into the display to see the well restored submarine Holland 1 and then into the larger museum to view many other exhibits and including the X 24, a must see. An extremely well laid out and fascinating insight, into our submarine history, thanks to all who made our day such an enjoyable one.
8. Moors Valley Country Park and Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,273 reviews
We are a large Country Park & Forest offering approximately 1000 acres of managed woodland and Country Park to explore. We have miles of mapped walking and cycle routes, two large adventure play areas, over a mile and a half walking route with numerous large woodland play stations to stop at, cycle and mobility scooter hire, model steam railway, golf and pitch & put, restaurant, staffed information point & Visitor Centre, disabled and baby change facilities at two large toilet blocks, Go-Ape and Segway hire, Ice-cream sales and visitor gift shop. If that is not enough to keep you busy, we have an array of activities throughout the year including, pond dipping, Ranger Den, Nordic walking. Admission is per car, and you need to know your number plate to pay at the paystations - at the end of your visit. See you soon.
Reviewed By Obi_Mart_Kenobi - Poole, United Kingdom
Hands down, one of our favourite places to visit. So much to do, the parking is still cheaper than you would pay for entrance for a family at other venues with less beauty and less to do. We have the young children and have been regular visitors to moors valley for years. In April 2019it cost us £11 to park the car for over four hours. But included in that price was so much. And it gets improved throughout every year. Our youngest daughter loved the Gruffalo carved characters and the Zog trail. All three kids, as usual, were in their element having fun walking through the forest play trail, playing on all the one of a kind play structures skillfully made out of wood. The forest itself is beautiful and such an amazing setting. With energy to spare, the kids also love the excellent play parks, suitable for all ages and we all loved the mini steam train, taking us through tunnels, over bridges and along the surprisingly long track. Aa return visitors here's our top tips: 1.take your own lunch. There's plenty of picnic tables around the grounds. Avoid the green field near the play park as it can get busy and there are more scenic picnic tables elsewhere dotted around the site. 2.Arrive early, especially on Bank Holidays and school holidays. The car park can get full surprisingly quickly... We (and hundreds of other cars) have been turned away at the gates as early as 11am on some days, simply because the car park is at capacity. 3.there are no bins in the grounds, you have to bring your rubbish away with you, so if bringing your lunch, a small backpack should be fine to stuff your rubbish in when you're done. 4.dogs are allowed on leads but we don't take our lab to be honest because it feels like a bit of a tease walking around and not being able to let him off. 5.the train is excellent and worth every penny. It is extra and not free as part of the parking cost. Tickets can be bought on card and it's not cash-only like it used to be. 6.if you have a toddler, consider taking a buggy that's good off road. Sounds obvious, but the play trail through the forest is a long way for a little pair of legs.
9. Solent Sky Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 869 reviews
Solent Sky Museum showcases the history of aviation in Southampton - Spitfire City - and the surrounding Solent area.Geographically this was the most important area in the country, perhaps the world, for aircraft experimental and development work between 1908 and the late 1960s. 26 aircraft companies set up shop in the area, and many of the world’s greatest aircraft, including the legendary Spitfire, first took to the air in the skies over Southampton.We have 18 complete airframes, including a Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S6a (N248), and also 4 cockpit sections. We also have a comprehensive collection of aero-engines.Our mighty Sandringham Flying Boat was originally built as a Short Sunderland in 1943, and converted to a passenger aircraft after the war. Visitors are welcome to board the aircraft to sample the luxury of air travel in the romantic era of the great flying boats, and guided tours of the flight deck are also available.Kids (and big kids) can also imagine what it would be like to fly a jet fighter while sat in the cockpits of our Supermarine Swift and Harrier Jump Jet. Our new Schneider Trophy Exhibition is now open, with its record-breaking centrepiece the S6a. Video stock footage of these legendary races and artefacts from the time illustrate the drama and romance of the fastest race in history.
Reviewed By Exploration814927
We visited in the afternoon and were warmly greeted by two volunteers, one of whom gave us a brief introduction to the layout, including the relatively new section which now includes the Hampshire Police and Fire Service Museum exhibits. A volunteer quickly showed my grandson to a couple of jet fighter cockpits to sit in ( including flying helmet ), and he was hooked! We spent the next two hours working our way around, including the magnificent flying boat over which another volunteer gave us a comprehensive and very informative tour. All the volunteers were very interesting and knowledgeable. A wonderful afternoon. We will certainly go again.
10. Romsey Abbey
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 363 reviews
We look forward to welcoming you to our Norman Abbey — home to a thriving Christian congregation. With a lofty nave and round Norman arches, Romsey Abbey is one of the most imposing churches in Southern England. It’s home to a number of treasures, including two Saxon roods, a 16th-century reredos (a screen displayed behind an altar) and the tomb of the Lord Mountbatten of Burma, great-uncle of Prince Charles.
Reviewed By AvidTraveler12 - Winchester, United Kingdom
The Abbey is located in the centre of Romsey and dominates the skyline. Built in Saxon times, of its type it is one of the oldest in the UK. Very few people inside and the sense of silence is overwhelming. The tomb of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who lived nearby at Broadlands is held within the abbey and points a different way to all other tombstones in the Abbey. It points towards the sea, because his wife was buried at sea. His Indian Standards are hung in the nave. The surrounding grounds are well used by people relaxing, having lunch and taking in the Abbey views.
