Welcome once again, I know my idea is for this blog to be mainly about my love of interiors but it is the time of the year to enjoy getting out and about and this weekend we had an away break booked in Winchester.  I had not been there before and as it is often touted as one of the best places to live in the UK I thought it would be a good idea to go and explore.

Luckily we had the weather on our side for a change this summer and the weekend was warm and balmy.  We stayed in the Holiday Inn which was a rather swish 4* hotel.  Even when I am away for the weekend I have always got my eyes open for interior inspiration and these chairs in one of the foyers rather caught my eye:

The centre of Winchester is everything I had hoped it would be – small enough to be able to walk everywhere on foot with beautiful old buildings, open spaces and the river Itchen which runs through city and provides many beautiful views.

The cathedral was a must see and we were lucky enough to have a guided tour and heard about its colourful history –  the architecture was stunning.   I just love the romanticism of the beautiful arches

………. and the georgeous original 12th century mosaic tiled floor:

Amongst other attractions we visited the city mill which is around 1000 years old and were able to see some milling taking place.

With all this sight-seeing we certainly built up an appetite and for Saturday’s evening meal visited a gastro pub with darkly painted walls and plenty of atmosphere.

After taking in all the culture I found myself needing some retail therapy and whiled away a good hour or so just browsing around the shops (of which there are plenty) and market before sitting in the beautiful gardens for a spot of lunch and sadly saying goodbye to beautiful Winchester before having to make our way home and back to reality for work in the morning.

 

It was lovely meeting you, hope to be back again one day……….