Hampshire - Introduction & Menu

Welcome to the Strolling Guide to Hampshire
and the Isle of Wight

Hampshire is a county that I suspect that many people have driven through, on their way to the West Country, up to London, to the ferry terminals in Portsmouth or the cruise liners based in Southampton, but few of them have stopped off to visit.

Truth to tell in the northern part of the county there is not a lot to see, and the landscape, though pretty, is undramatic.

In the far north west around Farnborough the county becomes more urbanised as it shades into the Surrey hinterland.

The great urban centres of Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth dominate the south east of the county, whilst the Isle of Wight and New Forest have characters all of their own.

General Articles
A quick look at some of the more interesting buildings and other curiosities in North and South East Hampshire.

Go to the General Articles Page
North Hampshire
Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester not withstanding, the north of the county is predominately rural, dominated by the huge sweep of chalk downland connecting the South Downs to Salisbury Plain.

Go to the North Hampshire Page
South East Hampshire
The area to the south of the South Downs is heavily populated and has always looked to the sea for its wealth. From Southampton to Portsmouth you are never far from the sea and from ships and shipping.

Go to the South East Hampshire Page
New Forest
The New Forest dominates the south-western corner of the county and it is were the Strolling Guides site began. It has long had its own separate guide.

Go to the New Forest Page
Isle of Wight
As distinctive in its own way as the New Forest, the Isle of Wight has long had an on-off relationship with the rest of Hampshire.

Go to the Isle of Wight Page

Welcome to the Strolling Guide to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Welcome to the Strolling Guide to Hampshire
and the Isle of Wight