As you may or may not know, I used to live in Winchester while I was doing a placement year at a certain large American mega-corporation. I hadn’t set foot in the place for over four years, so I decided to go back and visit yesterday as it’s only an hour by train from where I currently live.

Of the places I’ve lived in so far, Winchester is easily my favourite: it’s charming, compact, full of history, surrounded by beautiful countryside, and in all respects superior to the drab towns of the Thames Valley commuter belt where I’ve ended up. Even the Stanmore estate, an area with a poor reputation where we lived, is relatively pleasant by the standards of most towns.

The weather wasn’t too great but I managed to hit most of Winchesters major attractions and museums. For the first time I went on a guided tour of Winchester college (a very prestigious public boys school), which was certainly worth the £6 fee. Also noteworthy is the St. Cross almshouse where you can still go to the porter’s lodge and demand your “dole” (ale and bread for the poor). Although I think now you might not get dole without paying the entrance fee.

Anyway, the point of this rambling post is that Winchester is an excellent town which you should most definitely visit if you haven’t already. Here are some photos I took with notes.