It's the time of the year we Brits traditionally rush down to the south coast and enjoy the last of the summer weather.
Unfortunately this year, it was raining Saturday evening and most of Monday, but that gave us the whole of Sunday to not get wet in our sandals and shorts.
Our trip was to Southampton this year. Not the most obvious summer holiday destination (the beaches are in Bournemouth), but at only 90 minutes train ride from Oxford (and luckily not affected by the FGW strike) it's quick to get to, and gives most of the day to enjoy after leaving in the morning.
The city itself has quite a bit to see, but as we have been here a few times before we did not go and visit the typical sights. Our time was spent walking around the city, having lunch at the Thai stall at the outdoor market (very tasty), and walking down to Ocean Village (the harbour area) for dinner at Banana Wharf (we eat here every time we visit Southampton, still great food and service).
On Sunday (yes, the actual day of sun) we went for a day trip to Winchester. This is a quick 15 minutes by train, so again we were able to spend a lot of the day there.
Having not been to this city since I was little (both in size and in age) we did spend our time visiting all the typical sights here, which are wonderful.
On the way down to the centre from the railway station we passed many interesting buildings, churches, mills and statues. I really had my camera out the whole time.
The first major attraction we visited was Winchester Cathedral. This powerful building is not only big, but in very good condition. There is lots of colour inside with the stained glass windows, plus the various historical facts written on noticeboards around the cathedral so you can take in all the knowledge.
Of particular interest was the fact that many of the bishops of Winchester founded Oxford's colleges.
Also Saint Swithun was buried here. There are a few sayings about St Swithun's day (15th July), mainly to do with the weather:
Whatever the weather on St Swithun's Day, it will stay like that for the next 40 days.
Apples should not be picked or eaten before this day, they will then grow fully ripe.
Talking about food, we then walked around the back of the cathedral and found our way to The Wykeham Arms. This is a great Fuller's pub, with old school desks (with ink well included) being used as the bar tables.
After a fulfilling meal, we then headed off to see the Great Hall, of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table fame.
For anyone with an interest in medieval times and the story of King Arthur, this building is a treasure trove of information. The garden out the back is also a nice feature to walk around before leaving.
Back then to whence we came, after a short but sweet visit to Winchester.
The rest of the photos can be found here.
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