The Watercress Line
For those of you looking for nostalgia, The Watercress Line runs steam trains between Alton and Alresford and can whisk you back in time to a bygone age. Located just seven miles from the ancient city of Winchester, you can join the line at the picturesque Georgian town of Alresford or at the bustling market town of Alton. Alresford station is where the watercress that gave the line its name was sent all over the country by train from the goods platform you can still see behind the signal box.
Hinton Ampner House
Our nearest National Trust house, this elegant country manor and tranquil garden sit so harmoniously within the landscape that one cannot exist without the other. The house was lovingly rebuilt by its last owner, Ralph Dutton, after a catastrophic fire in 1960. Enjoy the beautifully proportioned rooms which house his exquisite collection of ceramics and art, each window offering undisturbed views to the tranquil countryside beyond. Beautifully manicured lawns lead the eye down avenues of sculptured topiary, past borders full of the heady scent of roses, to breathtaking views across the South Downs.
Uppark House and Petworth House, also National Trust are not far away too.
Jane Austen’s House
You are in Jane Austen Country and a visit to her house at Chawton is a must and only a 20 minute car ride. Her House is a cherished museum with an unparalleled collection of Austen treasures, including items of furniture, paintings and household objects. Visitors can discover Jane’s personal letters and first editions of her novels, items of jewellery that she cherished, portraits of her friends and family, and the tiny writing table at which she wrote these beloved novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
Weald and Downland Living Museum
Weald & Downland Living Museum, home to the BBC’s ‘The Repair Shop’ includes over 50 historic buildings dating from 950AD to the 19th century, re-erected from their original sites in south east England, together with period gardens, traditional farm animals and a mill pond.
Goodwood for racing and home of the famous Festival of Speed in the Summer and The Goodwood Revival in the Autumn.
The cathedral cities of Winchester and Chichester are within easy reach.
Portsmouth’s historic dockyard has the Elizabethan Mary Rose Warship, The Victory (Nelson’s ship) and the Warrior (the first iron clad warship). A stroll along the water’s edge will lead you into Gun Wharf Quays beside the harbour, with its extensive shopping, restaurants, bars and multi-screen cinema. The D-Day museum is in Southsea where you can catch a 10 minute hovercraft ride to the Isle of Wight.
The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu with its fantastic collection of veteran and vintage cars on the edge of the New Forest at Southampton and high opera at The Grange and plays at the Chichester Festival Theatre and Polo at Cowdray. Marwell Zoo and the Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery are popular attractions.
There is an array of great country pubs surrounding Langrish, serving good food, wines and ale. The South Downs Way is close by stretching some 100 miles from Winchester to East Sussex for cycling and spectacular walking and we have seven circular walks from the house.
There are beaches for the Summer at West Wittering near Chichester.