Top 10 Things To Do In Hampshire

There’s so much to see and do in Hampshire that it’s difficult to decide where to start. To give you a taste of the variety that the county has to offer Peter Heaton from Hoburne Naish holiday park in Hampshire has put together a list of ten pretty different activities and places to visit.

Check out some ruins: Roman Silchester and Odiham Castle

Hampshire has its fair share of well preserved ruins dating from as far back as the Iron Age. Two of the best can be found at Roman Silchester where the incredible Iron Age and Roman settlement of Calleva Atrebatum is still being painstakingly excavated. You can walk the ancient Roman town walls and imagine yourself back in the heyday of the Roman Empire. For a different experience head to Odiham Castle and explore its colourful history and remarkable ruins. This was once a stronghold of King John and a flourishing site in the 13th century. Dogs on leads are also welcome at both places.

Calleva Atrebatum. No, not a spell from Harry Potter – it’s the name of the Roman Ruins

 Winchester: Shopping and Walks

A haven for independent shops, boutiques and art galleries the city’s compact, pedestrian-friendly streets make shopping here a complete pleasure and your wallet a little lighter! For foodies, every Saturday from June to October, Winchester holds one of the best farmer’s markets in the UK with a lively, bustling atmosphere. Winchester is a beautiful city to walk around as it is relatively traffic free and the architecture and gardens are enviably well kept. Keats’ Walk is one of the best and follows in the poet’s footsteps along the River Itchen, past tranquil water meadows and on to Cathedral Close.

Calshot Activities Centre

Whatever your age if you are looking for some adrenalin fuelled activities then look no further than Calshot Activity Centre, which offers a incredible range of residential and non-residential courses in water and landbased activities for all abilities. Situated on the shores of the Solent, its setting gives immediate access to the country’s most popular watersports location and on shore, historic hangars accommodate a state of the art climbing complex, the only indoor velodrome in southern England and a dry ski slope. They cater for family groups and individuals alike.

Beaulieu

Beaulieu is not just one of the best places to visit in Hampshire, it’s one of the best places to visit in the whole of the UK full stop. Set in the heart of the New Forest National Park, it is most famous for the vast National Motor Museum but there’s so much more to see. Palace House, home of the Montagu Family and chock full of treasures, is set in immaculate grounds that overlook the Beaulieu River. There’s also Beaulieu Abbey, extensive gardens, World of Top Gear, a James Bond exhibition, a high-level monorail and a Secret Army Exhibition. One day might not be enough!

Weird and wacky cars at the motor museum

Explore the Hampshire South Downs by bike

On a sunny day there’s no better way to explore this 22-mile circular route than on a bike with a picnic in your basket. It follows quiet lanes and roads through a variety of contrasting scenery, including dramatic open landscapes and panoramic views of the chalk downs. The route starts at the pretty market town of Petersfield and is well marked with distinctive brown signs.

Hayling Island Beaches near Chichester

These activity filled beaches stretch for five miles along the south shore of the island. It’s the only place in the UK with two European Blue Flag beach awards and for wide, super clean beaches that are great for swimming you can’t get much better on the south coast. It is the birthplace of windsurfing and attracts water-sports lovers from far and wide. There’s also some classic colourful beach huts, which give the beach a real boost of Blighty nostalgia!

Aldershot West End Centre

For live music, theatre, exhibitions and comedy you don’t have to head to the metropolis to catch an inspiring show. This thriving arts centre located in the heart of Aldershot has it all and has played host to international bands as well as the best of local performers. Find out what’s going on here if you want to catch something a little different from the larger more obvious galleries and arts centres. They also run workshops in music and theatre, comedy, exhibitions, arts and crafts and a packed programme of community events.

The Basingstoke Canal

The best way to experience Hampshire’s waterways is to get yourself in a boat and what better way to do that than to hire a self drive narrow boat for you, your friends or your family. Stock up with some chilled drinks and drift off down the truly beautiful Basingstoke Canal taking in the delectable scenery and some excellent pubs. You can do day trips, weekend trips or longer routes that will take you through some of the finest canal scenery in the country. A good place to start is Odiham where you can also hire kayaks and canoes before heading out on the water to explore the county from a different perspective.

An Autumn morning on the canal

Visit Wickham Vineyard

Yes, belive it or not, we make great wine in the UK and here’s the proof. With guided tours and tastings, this idyllic vineyard between Portsmouth and Southampton not only makes excellent wine, it also has a restaurant run by a Michelin starred chef, Atul Kochhar. Why not sign up for a one day wine course, with a two course lunch prepared by Atul, and astound your friends with your new found knowledge. To grab great wine similar to the ones here, feel free to visit platforms such as QKAWine.com.

Royal Navy Submarine Museum

With a such a strong ocean going history Hampshire has an unrivalled number of maritime related museums and institutions. One of the best and most though provoking is the Royal Navy Submarine Museum where you can take a tour of the imposing HMS Alliance HMS, one of fourteen ‘A’ class submarines built for service in the Far East during WWII, step on board the fully restored Holland 1 (from 1901) and see inside X24, the only surviving WWII midget submarine.

If you’re looking for somewhere to stay whilst you’re exploring, Hoburne Naish offer caravans for sale and holiday apartments in Hampshire.

Pictures By Nefi, Trevormulder666, Adam,bushnell