Winchester City

Winchester is the perfect combination of laid-back socialising, locally sourced drinks, craft cocktails, as well as the chance to let loose on the dance floor. This is a city of bars and pubs so whether it's the start of the night or the whole night, there's going to be a spot that has the right vibes, the right drinks and is close enough to become your regular place. 

Most venues double as an events space hosting film and book clubs, festivals and much more. If you're dancing, The Broadway and O'Neill's have the space and the songs you know. If you're looking for something different Overdraft is vinyl only covering Soul, Hip Hop, DnB and even an open deck night if you're brave enough. 

There are plenty of pubs to hang out with friends, watch some sport and play games if you want a more casual night. And, don't forget, everything in the city is just a short walk from campus and accommodation so no need to pay for any transport. 

Arts and culture lovers are spoilt for choice in Winchester, a city that inspired literary giants such as Jane Austen and John Keats. The city is home to a wealth of accomplished artists, designers and craftspeople and hosts a growing number of festivals. You can enjoy an eclectic mix of comedy, music and drama as well as a vibrant mix of live performances, street art, exhibitions, talks, catwalk shows, concerts and theatre.

A few highlights include: slouching down into comfy seats with a glass of wine to watch the latest blockbuster or arthouse film at The Everyman Cinema, housed in a restored military chapel; watching a production by the Chesil Theatre Company in a 12th-century church, and relaxing beneath the longest medieval nave in Europe for one of the cathedral’s year-round programme of classical concerts, some of which are free.

Festivals not to be missed include Boomtown, The Hat Fair, which began life in 1974 as a buskers’ festival, and is now a busy outdoor arts showcase that brings joyful chaos to the city centre for a weekend in the summer. Winchester Comedy Festival is hosted at several venues across the city during the first week in October. There's also the Winchester Books Festival, as well as the Cheese and Chilli Festival.

To explore the full range of festivals on in Winchester throughout the year, visit festivals in Winchester website.

Winchester was the Westminster of Anglo-Saxon England and is one of the leading archaeological cities of the world and home to some of the greatest medieval buildings in Europe.

Chosen by King Alfred as the seat of power for his kingdom of Wessex, the city’s Great Hall, the only remaining part of the King’s Castle, has housed the legendary Round Table of King Arthur for over 700 years. Winchester is also home to a magnificent cathedral, which has been a place of worship for over 900 years and is the resting place for Jane Austen, Izzak Walton and the early English Kings. 

Nearby Winchester College is now believed to be the oldest continuously-running school in the country. It was built on a scale previously undreamt of in English education and became the model for Eton and King’s College, Cambridge. You can take a tour of its 14th-century Gothic chapel with its unusual wooden vaulted roof and a 17th-century schoolroom, believed to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

Most of the city’s historic buildings, monuments and museums are within a short walking distance of each other. To get an overview of the city, you can take a short climb up St Giles Hill. From the top you can trace the sweep of medieval and Georgian buildings, laid out according to the original Anglo-Saxon street plan and catch glimpses of the River Itchen as it winds it’s way through the city centre and out to the meadows beyond. Look out for the gothic turrets of the Victorian Guildhall and the perpendicular lines of the famous cathedral.

From Anthropologie and vintage clothing to a three-storied second-hand bookshop and British artisan chocolate store, Winchester offers an array of unique, independent shops and boutiques as well as traditional and well-known national stores.

The High Street is a bustling, traffic-free shopping environment with street performers and regular markets. More independent shops are found along the cobbled streets surrounding the cathedral as well as along Kings Walk which has a record store, Bike hire café, creative workshop space, and environmentally conscious deli. 

Winchester has excellent transport links including a direct train service to London Waterloo which takes just under an hour and runs every 20 minutes during peak times. The station is also well served by trains running to and from Southampton, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Brighton, the New Forest and the north of England.

The University of Winchester is located close to the M3 which provides easy road access to the M25 and M27. Travelling to and from Heathrow and Gatwick airports is convenient by both road and train and takes between one and two hours depending on your choice of transport and the time of day. Southampton Airport is located just 15 minutes away by train and offers flights within the UK, the Channel Islands and mainland Europe.

The National Express coach service picks up from Winchester (St Catherine's Park and Ride) and serves dozens of destinations across the UK. Ferry services from Portsmouth link to a number of ports in France and Spain.