Recent Articles
Hampshire
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Houghton Lodge & Gardens - A Top Attraction in Hampshire
Houghton Lodge & Gardens in Hampshire is 230 years old this year. As part of the celebrations the new Oriental Garden was officially opened by Charlie Dimmock, expert gardener and television presenter. Created in a corner of the parkland that surrounds Houghton Lodge, a Cottage Orné, this new garden enhances other attractions in the grounds including a Walled Garden, the Peacock Garden, a wilded area and a Herbaceous Border.
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Romsey: A Town on the Famous River Test
The historic town of Romsey in Hampshire lies on the banks of the River Test which flows through it and its tributary, Fishlake Stream, that trickles along its streets. This pretty town is famous for its Norman Abbey and continues to uphold the tradition of regular markets in its Market Place and Cornmarket.
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Intriguing Insights into the Medieval Town of Southampton
The fabric of Southampton’s fascinating history has been tastefully woven into the bustling, modern cruise terminal it is today. A short distance from the huge car parks and towering ships are the old walls of this Hampshire town. Majestic and intriguing they have been transformed into a living history of the middle ages.
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Houghton Lodge and its Tea Rooms in the Test Valley, Hampshire
The Test Valley in Hampshire is a unique landscape. Clear chalk streams thread their way through a gently undulating countryside bordered by lush water meadows and beautiful properties. The sweeping lawns of Houghton Lodge reach down to the banks of the River Test famous for its fly fishing.
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Four Extraordinary Estates to Visit in Hampshire, England
Ralph Dutton inherited Hinton Ampner from his grandfather, John Dutton, in 1935. By then the building, believed to have been built during the 1540s had morphed under various owners from a Tudor to a Georgian and finally a Victorian mansion. Ralph, a devotee of Georgian architecture, disliked Victorian architecture ...
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Four Highlights of the Test Valley and East Hampshire
A dramatic finale to this display involved a bush fire and the sudden appearance of several different birds flying overhead including vultures, storks and ibis. A cheeky meerkats was perched on a rock keeping an eye on the proceedings. Deep, throbbing African music accompanied this incredible display ...
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Alton in Hampshire - All About Jane?
Jane Austen is not the only famous person to be associated with Alton, another well-known resident was Sweet Fanny Adams. Fanny Adams did actually exist but today she is more commonly associated with the phrase sweet fanny adams that translates as sweet nothing or very little. Her story is told in the Curtis Museum and her grave can be seen in the town’s cemetery on the Old Oldham Road.
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Winchester College - a Medieval Marvel
The buildings surrounding this courtyard were constructed between 1392 to 1394. They were built around a courtyard for defensive purposes as the college was established a year after a big rebellion in the town. Designed to be self-sufficient the buildings in the outer court included accommodation for servants, a granary, a bakery and a brewery. As the water was not safe to drink in those days everyone drank ale. Only one female servant was allowed and that was the washerwoman who had to be old and ugly ...
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Exbury Gardens - Exquisite Woodland Gardens in England's New Forest
I was like a child in a sweet shop, running from one glorious bloom to another, camera snapping frantically. Exbury Gardens in the New Forest was welcoming the spring with a fantastic display of magnolias, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. Magnolias are my favourite. The first magnolia was brought to Britain in 1688 by a missionary from America. This sparked a lot of interest in the magnolia and by 1800 most of the American species were being cultivated here ...
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Ringwood - Gateway to the New Forest
Galloping through the Furlong Shopping Centre in Ringwood, Hampshire are bronze statues of a mare and foal created by Priscilla Hann. They are a beautiful reminder that Ringwood is in the New Forest and an ideal base for exploring further afield on foot, horseback, bus or bicycle. But spare some time to explore this historic market town that has some unique attractions, pretty walks and tours of the Ringwood Brewery …