A Country Escape

 London, 15th April 2021

In the whirl and the rush of every day life one tends to forget that life in London can get very busy, delightful, but busy nonetheless. Add a pandemic and multiple lockdowns to this and things can get even trickier. This was when (in between lockdowns) my bestie and I decided to take a trip to the countryside for a change of scenery and to blow away the London smoke in one of my favourite country towns namely, Winchester.

I've always adored Hampshire and Winchester with its easy connection to London is the perfect little getaway. The first time I visited was years ago, but I remember that first time vividly.  I was asked to go by a lovely boy who I met a little while before that who lived in the area and who was rather nervous when I met him at the Buttercross on the High Street. But regardless of those nerves and the peachy flushed cheeks, he proved to be a knowledgeable and attentive guide, showing me around town taking me from building to building, talking endlessly and swooning over every architectural highlight together, after which he relaxed a bit and started to smile more. He talked his way into the cathedral without us having to pay any admission charges (rather naughty but also adorable) and explained all the finer details of the cathedral to me, I was quite impressed (although I never told him that). We visited every possible secondhand bookshop known to man in Winchester which I thought was rather dreamy, flicking through books together in close proximity of each other. Afterwards we walked to the nearby Hospital of St Cross which we reached via a scenic albeit terribly muddy walk along the river Itchen. Suffice to say he made up for the muddy conditions afterwards at lunch and the Hospital with its beautiful mediaeval architecture and Almshouses were well worth the visit, so all was forgiven.

Years passed, and I visited a few more times until a few months ago my friend Mr V. decided it was time to go on trip together and so we decided, Winchester. Things were rather different because of restrictions but regardless fun was had and we shocked some locals here and there. The charming town, which as per usual didn't disappoint. We pranced along the High Street and its adjacent streets to soak up the atmosphere and in search for a strong cup of coffee and cake. Which we found and also realised they had a banging 90's and 00's playlist which we sang along to. All in all a good start methinks.

We roamed the streets and walked around the cathedral and the close and near the College. The beautiful buildings around here are, I think one of my favourites and never tire me so always worth a visit. Due to restrictions the secondhand cathedral bookshop displayed all of its books outside on tables which I found rather adorable and clever too. After meandering through the back streets and along the river and past the elegant old bishops palace we decide to go a bit further afield. We took a taxi to Hinton Ampner, which is only 15 minutes or so by car from town. We drove slowly through the hilly landscape, on treelined country lanes and past countless fields. nothing to see for miles but trees in every autumnal shade and the odd little house here and there. Country tranquility at its best.

When the taxi driver dropped us where we thought we needed to be, we realised we were at the wrong gate but the taxi was already gone. So Mr V. with his innocent enthusiasm remarked that we could reach the actual entrance by crossing the field in front of us. We walked all the way down that rather splendid country lane which spoilt us with beautiful houses, amber coloured trees and then finally a gate where we could enter the field. Off we went and I'm quite sure there is a video where I'm skipping along happily and enjoying the wide open space. Half way through we saw the main entrance and Mr V. thought it was a good idea to take a shortcut to it. So we did, through some high (very high) undergrowth which was very wet from the autumnal dew. My poor shoes, but all in all very worth it since the sun was shining and with the wind in our hair as we galloped through the field and found our (rather wet) shortcut to the gate. Hinton Ampner is a small country house owned by the National Trust and is better known for its gardens than the actual house. I couldn't tell you in all honesty because the house was closed upon our arrival so we had to be content by only looking at the gardens, which give us plenty to look at. 

When we walked past the house with its charming overgrown walls, we were taken aback by the impressive view of the parkland behind it. A view that stretches for miles with nothing but trees and the occasional sheep, all in all a rather perfect view. Next to the house are some quite beautiful rose gardens which were obviously not in bloom at that time of the year and we roamed around a maze-like part of the gardens getting lost, comme il faut. In the back we saw the lovely little church of All Saints at Hinton Ampner (not part of the National Trust and still fully functioning) with its beautiful churchyard, all very idyllic and the gate where we stood before dashing through a damp field. After having relaxed on a bench in the sun and absorbed the view and the country air we decided to go back to town and drove through the same splendid landscape back to Winchester. Whilst hunting for a place to eat we had a mooch at a vintage shop where I discovered a lovely 30s or 40s navy boater hat. It was sadly a bit too small for me even though it looked rather cute perched high on the head but we thought it would be a bit too much of a Death in Venice look (which also happens to be one of my favourite books and summer looks) so I decided not to buy it. Finding a place to eat proved to be quite a challenge since we went to Winchester on a whim and didn't book anything and after walking around town and looking jealously at people eating in the cutest of places (and getting rather hungry ourselves) we found a lovely brasserie at the last minute when we almost decided to give up. We feasted on dressed crab with French fries, a lot of mayonnaise and a bottle of white wine, nice and cold to quench the thirst! We toasted to a successful and rather adventurous country escape. And to Winchester which for a little country town has a lot to offer and always plenty of beautiful things to see.

Love,

F.