The Southampton Boat Show is one of the largest on-water boat shows in Europe and the largest in the UK, attracting over 100,000 visitors. The show started in 1969 and is held annually in September in Mayflower Park. Since 1997 it has been a 10 day event – this year it is being held from…

Hampshire’s Countryside Walks Hampshire’s landscape is a rich fabric of contrasts and the beauty of some of England’s most inspiring countryside and coastline can easily be experienced on foot. Open downlands, tranquil valleys, charming villages, lowland heaths, ancient woodlands and an attractive coastline can all be explored through walks in Hampshire on 3,000 miles of…

Jane Austen’s Hampshire Jane Austen, one of the world’s most famous authors, spent most of her life in the historic and beautiful county of Hampshire. Its houses, countryside and people provided the inspiration for many of her novels. 18th July 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death. This year is packed with exhibitions,…

Art and Craft in the Meon Valley From wood turning to loom weaving, jewellery design to pottery, Hampshire is a county full of wonderful crafts. In and around the Meon Valley are a number of locations where you can sign up to a course to experience it for yourself: Butser Ancient Farm – workshops take you…

Hampshire Watercress The clear, chalk-filtered streams of Hampshire are the ideal environment for growing watercress, with the Georgian market town of Alresford being England’s watercress capital. It was the coming of the railway in 1865 that allowed the industry to thrive, with the ability to transport the crop quickly to London and the Midlands without…

Did you ever wonder about how we came up with the names of our six ground-floor, self-catering holiday cottages here at Wallops Wood Cottages? The cottages were converted from a former agricultural building in the South Downs National Park on the Old Hambledon Steeplechase Racecourse. In memory of this, the cottages are named after Grand National winners.  We…