When I look back at my time living in Bournemouth, I have fond memories of my travels to nearby parts of England. Most of these places I have yet to write about and so here we are.. I toured Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, Dorset and much further afield, sometimes on football trips, other times on my own. Here are five cool things to check out in Hampshire, the county that borders Dorset.
The New Forest
I toured the New Forest frequently over a six year period of my life where I was based in the south of England. I loved the natural appeal of it. You can go for walks through the forest and search for beavers, you can spend a night in pet-friendly holiday cottages in Hampshire and you can ride a donkey at Brockenhurst, feed a pony or have a pint of English bitter in a local country pub. Hampshire is as traditionally English as they come.
Feeding a pony in the New Forest
The Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth
In the city of Portsmouth near the docks, you can head to the impressive Spinnaker Tower. It almost looks like it should be in Dubai with its design.
This tower was opened in 2005 and has just done a deal to be re-named the Emirates Spinnaker Tower.
View from the top of Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth.
The Red Lion Pub, Southampton
I’ve had many nights out in Southampton over the years especially when I managed the rock band the Waves years ago. I used to love the pub life in Southampton but a true stand out is the Red Lion Pub. This pub not only is the oldest pub in England, but it has a talking parrot! Apparently there is a resident ghost of an ex-barmaid too and lots of interesting facts on the walls to read.
The famous Red Lion pub in Southampton
Fratton Park, Portsmouth
Home of the 2008 FA Cup winners (and losing finalists in 2010), Fratton Park is the best football stadium in Hampshire. The team here, Portsmouth FC are nicknamed “Pompey” and they enjoyed 7 seasons in the top flight before being relegated. They have had a fall from grace and now play in Division Four (League Two) but their fans remain some of the best supporters in England.
They have a big rivalry with fellow south coast team S**thampton and a mini rivalry with my own team, AFC Bournemouth.
Former Capital of England, Winchester
No trip to Hampshire can be complete without visiting Winchester, the former capital city of England. Winchester is a beautiful and iconic English county town. My first memories of Winchester were with my family on a holiday in the late 80s where we had pizza by the river and won a pub quiz and stayed in a country style B and B!
The pretty river in idyllic Winchester, Hampshire. As well as once being the capital of England, Winchester is commonly described as the ancient capital of Wessex – its charming streets show no sign of aging and the Buttercross monument is as pristine as ever.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
