Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HAMPSHIRE &
DORSET
by Donald Strachan
7
Hampshire and Dorset are where England began.
They formed the core of Alfred's 10th-century king-
dom of Wessex, the capital of which was Winchester.
They became Wessex once again—this time fictional—in the
19th-century Dorchester tales of writer Thomas Hardy. A tour of these
southern English counties leads you gently from London's coattails to the
rural peace of tiny villages, coastal walks, and serene, idyllic isolation.
SIGHTSEEING
Jane Austen wrote about the middle-class inhabitants
of Hampshire in her six novels, including
Pride and Prejudice
and
Sense
and Sensibility.
Fans can visit her memorial in
Winchester Cathedral
and the house where she lived,
Chawton Cottage.
The Gothic fan vaults
at
Sherborne Abbey
showcase medieval ingenuity, and the nearby
Jurassic Coast
is home to more natural wonders.
EATING & DRINKING
Both Hampshire and Dorset look seaward for
culinary inspiration—seafood here is much more than fish and chips
wrapped in yesterday's newspaper. Restaurants including Weymouth's
Crab House Café
and Portsmouth's
Restaurant 27
offer contrasting
visions of contemporary coastal dining. The country pubs of the
New
Forest
are places to eat gastropub food and drink local ales.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Besides the twin (and rival) cities of
Southampton
and
Portsmouth,
these are almost entirely rural coun-
ties. Keen walkers will find empty tracts, out of season, on the
Isle of
Wight
and the
New Forest National Park.
For livelier sands and surf-
ing, it has to be the Victorian resort of
Bournemouth
and its trendy
neighbor,
Boscombe.
HISTORY
Like the food, the history of these coastal counties is forever
tied to the English Channel. Portsmouth has long been England's naval
capital, and the
Historic Dockyard
is where Nelson's HMS
Victory
and
the remains of Henry VIII's flagship, the
Mary Rose,
are berthed. Across
the Solent, on the Isle of Wight,
Osborne House,
where Queen Victoria
lived and died, is a preserved time capsule.
