Tourist attractions Ashurst

After razing 36 parishes near Winchester Castle to the ground, William the Conqueror had a royal forest devoted to hunting planted in the area. Heavy penalties were inflicted on whoever was found harming the trees or the deer. The Crown finally gave ..

The National Motor Museum houses a collection of over 250 vehicles, illustrating the story of motoring from 1895 to the present day. On display are some exceptional cars produced before 1919 , including a Daimler and a splendid Rolls Royce Silver Gh..

This splendid 19C drive features a large number of magnificent adult trees, particularly oak and beech. Paths lead off from the drive to observation platforms from which visitors can admire the stag in paddocks. Further on down the drive, the oak a..

This majestic drive is lined with trees planted in 1859. Today they make up Britain's finest collections of adult conifers. Some of the Douglas firs and sequoias are over 50m tall.

Designed by botanist Sir Harold Hillier in 1953, these bucolic gardens in the heart of the Hampshire countryside have over 42 000 plants from around the world and a magnificent winter garden.

The impressive northern gate, Bargate was built c. 1180. Its large towers were added in around 1285 and the imposing north façade in the 15C. Note the 15C Catchcold Tower and the Arcade. At the top of Blue Anchor Lane, a large Tudor House datin..

Romsey grew up around an abbey founded in 907 and largely rebuilt between 1120 and 1230. With the Dissolution, it ceased to be and its buildings were torn down, but its chapel was spared. The pure and simple interior is a fine example of the late Nor..

The Maritime Museum illustrates numerous aspects of life and work in Bucklers Hard in the 18C with reconstructed interiors of two cottages and an inn, furnished in the style of the 1790s.

The Wool House , a magnificently-restored, 14C stone warehouse is now the Maritime Museum , displaying models of boats and other exhibitions from the history of the great port.

The Art Gallery has a fine collection of modern art, including works by Spencer, Sutherland and Lowry.

This is the oldest building in the medieval town, built soon after the Norman Conquest and enlarged throughout the Middle Ages and in the 19C. A distinctive feature of the church is the elegant 18C stone spire . Inside are extremely attractive black..

The home of the first Lord Montagu is a strange mixture of medieval monastic architecture, Victorian home comforts and mementoes of the Montagu family.

After the Dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII, the abbey fell into ruin and the stone used to build forts along the coast. Only the foundations remain of what was once the largest Cistercian abbey in England. The cloister has partly ..