UK - Winchester

Timeline - July 2017

Tripmates - Karthik, Siva, Khushal, Abhishek

Winchester is England’s ancient capital city steeped in history, offering historical information for visitors looking to understand Britain’s past. The city hosts medieval and Georgian buildings, arches and several eventful statues to walk through. A small good city for a walk tour. City of Winchester lies in Hampshire county. 

We walked around the old city and covered few parts of it.

Next, we reached Great Hall in 5-7 mins walk from the railway station. The Great hall is definitely great. They charge 2 GBP for entrance per adult and let you see/do 2 important things. One - you get to see a big round table as old as 12-13th century - mounted on the wall - along with a writing on the wall about history of Winchester - first capital of England.

Also, you are allowed to wear some royal clothing and take photographs. This is quite a bit of an experience for any age.

Next, we stopped by Westgate museum. This is situated close by Great hall. One gets to climb it and get a good view of old town of Winchester. We did not climb as it was closed when we were there on a Sunday evening around 5 PM. This is just next to Great hall on the main road as you walk.

Winchester Buttercross is a landmark in Winchester. One gets to see this while going to Winchester Cathedral from the main streets of Winchester. This is well sculpted with intricacies. No history available to read nearby.

We walked by the Winchester City Museum. It was closed and we could not visit.

Winchester Cathedral - 10 min walk from the Winchester railway station. The Old cathedral is a good piece of history and hosting beautiful glass paintings besides being an active church. The place is open until 5 PM. It is quite small when compared to the Salisbury Cathedral but hold its own significance. Overall, a tick mark when you visit Winchester.

We had some excellent coffee and pastries before we boarded train back to Basingstoke.

Others areas of Winchester that can be covered in a day trip would include, Winchester mills, South Downs, Marwell zoo, Gurkha museum and few other based on interest.

UK - Mayfield Lavender

Timeline - July 2017

Tripmates - Karthik, Sivakumar, TP, Khushal and Sreejith

Nice place to spend about an hour or so. From London, one can take Southern line and reach Epsom. From there, we can take a bus (if contactless or oyster card) or taxi - around 22-25 GBP.

The field is medium in size and allows to spend 1-2 hours. Apt place for a bright and sunny day. The lavender farm is great for photography; on a cloudy day, the photos might not be so attractive. The lavender effervescence can be well felt across the field. The lavender colour definitely is very attractive and a nice time to go around.

UK - Durdle Door - Lulworth Cove

Timeline - July 2017

Tripmates - Karthik, Sivakumar, Khushal, Suseel and many more :) , I guess 9 of us.

The plan was to visit Durdle door and Lulworth cove. We started from Basingstoke by train towards Weymouth. We got down at Wool train station. From Wool, we hired a cab to be dropped at Durdle door. We made the decision to reach Durdle door first and then walk to Lulworth Cove. The cab driver gave his contact number to pick us back in case we could not get a cab back from Lulworth Cove. The cab driver charged us GBP 3 per person to drop either at Lulworth cove or Durdle door. 

The Lulworth cove and Durdle door are amazing places to visit on the Jurassic coast. Either way you can walk to the other place. It is advised to goto Durdle door first as it would be easy to climb down to Lulworth cove - quite steep indeed. The whole place is heavenly and the beaches are amazing so as the cliff views. Plan a whole day for this place. Great place to trek and swim !

Durdle door and the White Nothe walk are amazing to see. Definitely a great place in English Summer - for a whole day. One gets to walk/trek and slide in the waters as much as one could here with great experiences in photography, swimming and enjoying the nature.

Stair hole is a 10-min walk/trek from Lulworth cove. It takes you to great natural beauty. The place has small hillocks with holes letting the water to come in and creating a pond like place to enjoy to the fullest.

The Lulworth cove is a horse-shoe shaped place where ocean water comes in and creates a great pool for people to enjoy. One gets to get to the top for amazing views and enjoy the nature to the fullest.

Amazing day and great time spent with nature - cliff views, pebble beaches and stunning landscapes !