Winchester Cathedral is one of the oldest Medieval Cathedrals in Britain with over 1,000 years of history to its name.

But that isn’t all. It is also the burial place of the famous novelist, Jane Austen.

This year, 2025 is the 250th year since her birth and so there is a special exhibition in the cathedral at the moment detailing the special friendship/mentorship between Jane and vicar’s wife, Anne LeFroy. The exhibition has been arranged by the LeFroy family descendants who still live in the local vicinity. But it’s only on until October this year.

Only about an hour from Winchester, you can experience the delights of Lymington. We stayed with friends as guests in their timeshare. Lymington is much more than just the port for the Isle of Wight crossing, it has a picturesque beauty all its own with its delightful cobbled streets and independent shops. Perhaps worth a stopover before boarding the ferry?