Location: Winchester
Top Things to do in Winchester
What to do and see in Winchester, England: The Best Nature & Wildlife Areas
Winchester is a city and the county town of Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs National Park, along the course of the River Itchen. It is situated 61 miles (98 km) south-west of London and 13.6 miles (21.9 km) from Southampton, its closest city. At the time of the 2011 Census, Winchester had a population of 45,184. The wider City of Winchester district which includes towns such as Alresford and Bishop's Waltham has a population of 116,800.
Restaurants in Winchester
1. Winnall Moors Nature Reserve
2. Winchester City Mill
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 726 reviews
Winchester City Mill is a working watermill dating back to at least Saxon times; now fully restored by the National Trust, the City Mill is probably the oldest working watermill in the UK. Inside visitors can discover more about the mill’s long and fascinating history as well as see the mill in action and learn how we produce traditional stone-ground wholemeal flour using the power of the River Itchen. Our team of volunteer millers provide flour milling demonstrations every Saturday and Sunday as well as Wednesdays during the summer months. The City Mill is also home to a wide variety of wildlife including kingfishers, grey wagtails, wild trout, water voles and even otters which can be viewed from our on-site observation cameras.
Reviewed By stewartc640 - Chatham, United Kingdom
We visited the City Mill in Winchester on a short break to the city with friends. The mill is owned by the National Trust and entry is free to members. There is no car parking directly associated with the attraction but there are (pay & display) car parking in the city itself. The mill building is not large but is fully operational and there is a tremendous amount to see if you are interested in how these old industries operated. Entrance to the mill is via a small shop and here the visitor may purchase all manner of souvenirs and mementoes of their visit. After entering the mill ‘proper’ the visitor finds themselves in a large barn like area that contains the mill machinery that would have ground wheat to make flour. There is a lot of useful information concerning the history of the mil and the milling process and we also noticed that there was things for children to read and participate in, and these are set at a lower height level. Of additional interest was ‘recent’ video footage, of a family of otters that frequent one of the channels passing through the mill. Steps lead down to the water wheel itself, and on the day of our visit the river was in full flow and the mill wheel turned industriously whilst overflow water literally raced through a separate channel. Once again there was some explanatory information about the wheel including explanation of the different types of water wheel complete with interactive demonstrations. This area was truly atmospheric and as an engineer I could appreciate the amount of potential energy passing under the building and the mechanical workings of the mill harnessing this power. Another area off of the mill interior is the mill garden where the visitor may view the river passing though the mill though being a December afternoon we did not stay here too long. There is a café area off of the mill interior and this had a reasonable amount of seating for customers and also a toilet. The café served hot and cold drinks and also a good choice of snacks and our party’s spent some time her enjoying a coffee together before leaving. We enjoyed our visit here to the City mill and would recommend it to others particularly of you are interested in witnessing a working water mill or as an educational visit for school; children.
3. Magdalen Hill Down
4. St Catherine's Hill
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 124 reviews
Reviewed By AvidTraveler12 - Winchester, United Kingdom
This is a lovely walk from the centre of Winchester, depending on how quickly you walk it is about 45 minutes each way. Climbing the hill looked daunting, but was a little easier than it looked, due to the well positioned wide steps. You need to add at least another hour for walking to the top and looking around once at the top. Very pretty views from the peak of the hill. You need a moderate level of fitness climbing the hill, when we went there was people of all ages there. Best of all it is all free!!!
5. Blackwood Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 86 reviews
Reviewed By CliveK52 - Abingdon, United Kingdom
What a great weekend! Nine of us stayed (or ten if you include daisy the dog) in the biggest of the forest cabins. It was a family get together and we had a wonderful time. The underfloor heating kept us all warm, along with the log burner. What is good is that you do not heed to leave the cabin if you don’t want to. We had a breakfast delivered on one day and went out to the cafe retreat for an evening neal on another. And the hot tub? Brilliant.
