This blog is one of a series in which we explore locations across the UK. We know your area, because it’s our area too.
A beautiful location for family life, with glorious scenery on the doorstep, it’s no wonder Winchester is regularly crowned one of the best places to live. It’s also a vibrant city steeped in history and I feel lucky to be selling such an interesting range of developments here.
A stroll through the area gives you a sense of what Winchester has to offer. A great place to start is Knights Quarter, a fantastic new development which overlooks the historical city centre and the countryside beyond. The apartments and townhouses here offer the best of city living, with a residents’ gym and on-site concierge service, while being a short distance from open countryside.
From here, we’ll head down Romsey Road and past St James Corner, a development of stylish new townhouses. Continue down the hill and we’ll pass Clifton Terrace to the left, a beautiful road of elegant Regency townhouses. Staying on Romsey Road, we’ll come to Winchester’s Military Museums on the historic site of Peninsula Barracks. Next to this is the medieval Great Hall, home to King Arthur’s legendary round table.
The train station is a short walk to the left but we’ll head right to the top of the High Street, where you can’t miss Westgate Museum, housed inside a surviving fortified medieval city gateway. It’s worth stopping off here to find out more about the history of Tudor and Stuart Winchester, while enjoying some great rooftop city views.
Follow the road down past the Crown Courts, set back from the road to the right, and towards the Savills office on the left. Rather than heading down the High Street, let’s take a right turn down Southgate Street. The beauty of Winchester is that there are lots of different charming routes we can take through the city centre. After a few minutes we’ll pass the Everyman cinema and opposite is Devenish House, a traditional building which has been newly renovated to create nine stylish apartments.
No tour of Winchester would be complete without stopping off at the magnificent cathedral. To get there, we’ll turn left onto St Swithun Street which follows a scenic route down to the cathedral gates, past the beautiful historic timbered houses in Dome Alley.
Once the seat of Anglo-Saxon and Norman royal power, Winchester Cathedral has played host to kings and queens for centuries, including William the Conqueror, Mary Tudor and her husband, Philip II of Spain. Beyond the cathedral is Wolvesey Castle, monumental remains of a 12th-century palace which was once the residence of the bishops of Winchester, and the water meadows.
Follow the road through the cathedral grounds, with the cathedral on the right, and we’ll leave the Cathedral Close via Market Street. A quick detour to the left will take you along The Square and to my favourite coffee shop, General Store Winchester. Here you’ll find everything from coffee to groceries, wine, cheese and charcuterie. After a coffee stop, head back to Market Street and follow it along the cobbled High Street which boasts vibrant boutiques alongside high street names, with an eclectic array of restaurants, bars and cafés and plenty of entertainment venues close at hand.
In the middle of the High Street, and some 200m from Winchester Cathedral, is St George’s Court, six new apartments with all that the city has to offer right on its doorstep. The apartment building overlooks the Butter Cross statue in the heart of the city, where we’ll finish our tour. The statue is a fascinating piece of history dating back to the early 15th century.
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