My Adventures 3: Winchester,Hampshire walk and River Itchen Wild Swim 28th July 2020

On Tuesday the 28th July 2020 I left home to travel to Winchester and arrived just under 2 hours later just before 9am. I parked up for free in Five Bridges Road in Winchester to start my walk.

GPX File Here
Viewranger File here.

We cross St Cross Bridge to look at the Itchen Navigation,a popular spot for trout I'm told.

The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile (16.7 km) disused canal system in Hampshire, England, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by Act of Parliament in 1665, but progress was slow, and the navigation was not declared complete until 1710. It was known as a navigation because it was essentially an improved river, with the main river channel being used for some sections, and cuts with locks used to bypass the difficult sections. Its waters are fed from the River Itchen. It provided an important method of moving goods, particularly agricultural produce and coal, between the two cities and the intervening villages.

We walk on and along the Itchen Way.

The Itchen Way is a 31.80-mile (51.18 km) long-distance footpath following the River Itchen in Hampshire, England, from its source near Hinton Ampner House to its mouth at Woolston. The walk finishes at Sholing railway station.

We follow the stretch running parallel with the former route of the former Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway

A bridge that once carried the disused railway.

St Catherines Hill.

We reach St Catherines Lock,the remains of St Catherine's Hill Lock, which now contains a modern sluice mechanism, and was the location of a water-powered sawmill, located to the west of the lock.

Here stood a mill 160 years ago that was powered by the river to cut logs into timber.

We cross the path to climb St Catherines Hill, you could of course follow the path to avoid the climb. But the views are worth the effort!

The top of the hill is ringed by the ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort. In the centre a copse of beech trees contains the site of the 12th-century chapel of St. Catherine. There is also a mizmaze, probably cut between 1647 and 1710.

If I'd known this I would have climbed up to the top!

The hill was cut off from the Itchen water meadows for over a hundred years by the construction of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway in the 1890s and the Winchester By-pass (A33) in the 1930s. The railway closed in the 1960s and the road was removed following construction of the M3 motorway to the east through Twyford Down in the 1990s. Whilst this reunited the hill with its historic setting to the west, it is now largely cut off from the hills to the east. The routing of the original by-pass to the east of Winchester had been controversial and its replacement by the M3 led to a large-scale protest (see main article Twyford Down protest).

The hill was where the game of Winchester College football was played after being moved from Kingsgate Street and before moving to its modern form on canvases around the school. In 1922, money raised by The Old Wykehamist Lodge of Freemasons hosting the Public Schools Lodge's Council Festival was used to buy the hill and donate it to the College.

Structurally, St. Catherine's Hill is part of the Winchester anticline. This is an upfold in the chalk at the western end of the South Downs. In the Winchester area the core of the anticline has eroded to expose older rocks in Chilcomb, Bar End and Winchester itself, leaving a near complete ring of inward-facing chalk scarp slopes including Magdalen (Morn) Hill to the north, Chilcomb Down and Telegraph Hill to the east, Deacon Hill, Twyford Down and St. Catherine's to the south and Oliver's Battery to the west. Whilst the highest part of the main ring of hills (which reaches up to 167 metres (548 ft) at Cheesefoot Head) is of the 'Lewes Nodular Chalk Formation', St. Catherine's is of the slightly older 'New Pit Chalk Formation'. Both date from the Turonian stage of the Upper Cretaceous. St. Catherine's Hill is separated from the higher Twyford Down by the dramatic dry valley known as Plague Pits Valley to the east and south, and truncated by the valley of the River Itchen to the west.

View to St Cross Hospital

The views up here are amazing! Views to St Cross Hospital,the city and not so grand M3.

We now make our way downhill and to The Handlebar Cafe.

A cycle themed cafe and workshop open to everyone! Echoing the shapes of two train carriages passing on the railway bridge.

We cross Garnier Road and follow the Itchen towards Winchester.

A rather grand treehouse up high in a willow tree.

We leave the Itchen and walk up to a road and then cross Blacks Bridge on College Walk.

We reach the Home and office of The Bishop of Winchester.

Next door is Wolvesey Castle.

Wolvesey Castle, also known as the "Old Bishop's Palace",is a ruined castle in Winchester.

The original palace on the site was built around 970 by Æthelwold of Winchester on a piece of land known as Wulveseye or Wulf's island, an eyot in the River Itchen east of the cathedral. About 1110, the second Norman bishop, William Giffard, constructed a new hall to the south west. His successor, Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen added a second hall to the west between 1135 and 1138.

A new palace in the baroque style was built to the south by Thomas Finch for George Morley in 1684. However, Brownlow North demolished all but the west wing of this palace in 1786. After a variety of different uses the remaining part was refurbished for use once again as the bishop's residence in 1926 by Theodore Woods.

The castle was created by Henry of Blois in 1141 by linking the two Norman halls with a curtain wall which would have finally obliterated any remaining parts of the Anglo-Saxon palace. It was the scene for the Rout of Winchester in which the Empress Matilda assaulted the castle later in 1141, during the period of civil war known as The Anarchy. It was the castle's first and only siege, when it was held for Stephen by the retainers of Bishop Henry.

The besieged defenders of Wolvesey burnt with fireballs all the houses of the city which were too near the enceinte and gave cover to the enemy. Most of the old town of Winchester was destroyed. Empress Matilda's forces were held off for three weeks (August - September, 1141) until Stephen's wife, Matilda, arrived with reinforcements from London.

Henry II is said to have slighted Wolvesey after the death of Bishop Henry in 1171. This did not include the destruction of the residential quarters as many later occupants of the see of Winchester dwelled there in high state. But the gate and portcullis were likely removed and some breaches made in the curtain .

It was once a very important building, and was the location on 25 July 1554 of the wedding breakfast of Queen Mary and Philip II of Spain. The castle was destroyed by Roundheads during the English Civil War in 1646.

The chapel is the only considerable remnant of the south range of the castle, and is still in use, being attached to the palace.

The extensive surviving ruins are currently owned and maintained by English Heritage. The castle has had Grade I listed status since 24 March 1950, as has the palace located on the same site. A fair amount of the curtain wall remains, but nearly all the inner arrangements are gone, though it is possible to make out the hall, in which there is a good round arch and one surviving Norman window.

We leave the Castle wan walk up College Street and past The Winchester College.

Winchester College.
The house next door is where Jane Austen spent her final weeks, she died here and was buried in the Cathedral.

At the end of the road we reach Kingsgate Street, where to our right is a archway with the tiny church of St Swithun above.

St Swithun upon Kingsgate is a Church of England church in Winchester, Hampshire, England, built in the Middle Ages in the Early English style. Located above the medieval Kingsgate, one of the principal entrances to the city, the church is unusual in forming a part of the fabric of the old city walls. St Swithun's first appears in 13th century records, and under the fictional name of St Cuthbert's, is mentioned in Anthony Trollope's novel The Warden.

View back the other way along Kingsgate Street,

The first mention of the church is recorded in 1264, when it was apparently burned by the citizens of Winchester during a dispute with the Priory.Most likely the church served as a chapel for lay people who worked for the Abbey. In 1337 some woodwork was done on the church, costing a total of fifteen shillings, and in 1484 the windows underwent repair.

St Swithun was an Anglo Saxon saint, born in Winchester and in 852 becoming the 19th bishop of the city. He died in 862 when King Alfred the Great was still a young man. It is possible that St Swithun was tutor to the young king, and accompanied him on a pilgrimage to Rome.

According to legend, St Swithun has a special association with the English weather, a legend which dates from July 971 when the bones of the saint were moved from outside the old Saxon cathedral and brought inside the building, apparently causing a great thunderstorm:"On St Swithun's Day, if then dost rain,For forty days it will remain:St Swithun's Day, if then be fair,For forty days 'twill rain nae mair."

St Swithun's Day is celebrated on 15 July.

A bookshop beneath St Swithuns Church.

We go through the gateway and walk up to Priors Gate.

The main entrance to the Close is the 15th Century Prior’s Gate. This has a plain four-centred arch and the original traceried doors. The parapet is castellated, and there is a coat of arms over the arch. Cheyney Court, also 15th Century, was once the Bishops Court House. This is probably the most photographed domestic building in Winchester. The ground floor is constructed of stone with an oversailing three gabled timber frame and plaster infill above. The Close wall forms part of the back of the house. The 15th Century Porter's Lodge is similar to Cheyney Court and forms a 2-storey projecting gabled part of the Cheyney Court block.

Priors gate

Cheyney Court

Cheyney Court is a medieval court where bishops met to hear legal cases involving the areas they controlled,known as the Soke.

We pass the medieval stables on our right now used as music rooms, we see the main buildings of Pilgrims school.

The Deanery

The Deanery was built in the 13th century as the home of the Prior of the Cathedral.

We now reach the Cathedral, where we stop for lunch on a bench, a fantastic view for a bite to eat.

Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral.

Dedicated to the Holy Trinity,Saint Peter, Saint Paul and, before the Reformation, Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.

The cathedral was founded in 642 on a site immediately to the north of the present one. This building became known as the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971.

Saint Swithun was buried near the Old Minster and then in it, before being moved to the new Norman cathedral. So-called mortuary chests said to contain the remains of Saxon kings such as King Eadwig of England and his wife Ælfgifu, first buried in the Old Minster, are in the present cathedral. The Old Minster was demolished in 1093, immediately after the consecration of its successor.

It was nearly a tenner each to enter, so we gave it a miss!

We walked round and onto the High Street.

Further down the High Street we pass The Guildhall.

The site was previously occupied by St Mary's Abbey and came under crown control on the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s: it was then gifted by Queen Mary to the City of Salisbury in gratitude for the city's support in securing her marriage to King Philip of Spain in 1554 The building, which was designed by Jeffery and Skiller in the Gothic Revival style, was completed in 1875.In June 2009, a room in the Guildhall was extensively refurbished with financial support from the Marchioness of Winchester and renamed after the Marchioness with a huge portrait of her in her state robes by Frank Salisbury taking pride of place.

We reach the Victorian Statue of King Alfred.

It was erected in 1901. It is 2.5 times life size, 15 feet (4.57 m) high, and weighs 5 tons. The base, in two parts, is of Cornish Granite, and the whole stands 40 ft high. The right hand grasps a cross-hilted sword, the symbol of Christianity which was to combat the power of heathenism. The left foot strides forward in a rather Pharonic gesture of Kingship and the subjugation of ones enemies. A Saxon helmet crowns the head, and the left hand rests lightly upon a Saxon circular shield. The cloak, thrown back over the right shoulder, shelters the King and encourages the viewer to walk around the statue to view it face on. The granite pedestal bears just one word - AELFRED.

Born at Wantage, in Berkshire, Aelfred was the fifth child of Ethelwulf, King of Wessex and Queen Osburgh. His early life was spent mostly in the court of his parents, and he was much influenced by them in matters of learning and religion. Ethelwulf, before acceding to the throne of Wessex, was educated at the Old Minster in Winchester, by Bishop Swithun. It is known that Aelfred made at least two pilgrimages to Rome, one at the age of four, and one in the company of his Father, two years after the death of Queen Osburgh, his mother. Having left two of Aelfreds eldest brothers to rule over Wessex and Kent, Ethelwulfe returned to a divided Kingdom. Kent and the South East were relinquished to him by Ethelbert, but Ethelbald refused to surrender Wessex. Ethelwulf died almost a year later.

Ethelbald died in 860 and was succeeded by Ethelbert until 865, when he too died and the throne passed to Ethelred I.

In 868 Aelfred married Ealhswith, the granddaughter of the King of Mercia. Aelfred was later to grant her an estate in Winchester, upon which the Nunnaminster was built.

In 870 the Danes attacked Wessex, and over wintered at Reading. Early in 871 King Ethelred and Aelfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown, though Ethelred later died of wounds received in the battle.

Now King of Wessex, Aelfred was forced to negotiate a sort of peace with the Danes, literally paying them to leave his Kingdom alone (Danegelt). Aelfred used the time this bought to strengthen his Kingdom and to also develop the beginnings of a Naval fleet. At first using mercenaries, he later built a large fleet of ships to a design superior to that used by the Danes.

In 876 the Danes re-invaded Wessex under a new leader, Guthrum, who established a base at Wareham. Aelfred was once again obliged to negotiate with the Danes, but Guthrum broke faith with their agreement and seized Exeter the following year. The city was put to siege and Guthrum requested reinforcements from the Viking fleet. Aelfred sent his small fleet of mercenary ships to intercept them, but a storm wrecked 120 ships of Guthrums fleet and he was forced to withdraw from Wessex into Mercia.

In 878 Guthrum suddenly attacked Aelfred & his household at Chippenham over Christ Mass. Aelfred fled to Athelney in the Somerset levels and lodged, with his wife and children, in the house of a swineherd. Guthrum proclaimed himself King of Wessex. Aelfred raised a small following and started attacking the Danes in a guerilla war. News of his survival spread, and just seven weeks after Guthrum's surprise attack Aelfred confronted him at Eddington, pursued the Danes to their camp and laid siege to it. Fourteen days later the Danes surrendered. Although Guthrum was Aelfreds prisoner, Aelfred and Guthrum agreed to divide England into two, along a boundary from Watling Street in London across country to Chester. Later that year Guthrum was baptised into the Christian Church, with Aelfred in attendance at a ceremony on the Isle of Aller, and Guthrum settled peacefully in East Anglia until his death ten years later.

In 896, nine of Aelfreds new ships engaged and defeated six Danish ships from East Anglia that were raiding towns all along the south coast. The captured crews were later sent in chains to Winchester, where they were hanged as a warning to others. It seemed to work as the rest of Aelfreds reign was relatively peaceful, and he was able to effect many reforms.

We visited the Abbey Gardens to use the toilets here.

Back out the front is the Abbey House.
This is the Mayors Official Residence.

Now we walk on to the City Bridge.

City Bridge

Winchester City Mill has stood at the heart of the historic city of Winchester, the capital of King Alfred’s Wessex, since at least Saxon times. With a history of over 1000 years, Winchester City Mill is probably the oldest working watermill in the UK.

A rare surviving example of an urban working corn mill, the City Mill was rebuilt in 1744. Having entered the care of the National Trust in the late 1920’s, the City Mill was restored back to full working order in 2004.

We now follow the Itchen again.

Here beside the Itchen is the remains of the only remaining Roman wall in Winchester.

Chesil House

We walk further up and reach Wharf Mill.
This is the site of a medieval mill.

Wharf Mill.

We walk back along College Street again passing Winchester College.

We turn left along Kings Gate and pass Winchester College.

We walk into the college grounds, only to be told to leave before he calls security! Jobsworth taking himself a little too serious!!
We walk on and turn left down Garnier Road and just before the Handlebar Cafe, we take a footpath that leads us alongside the River Itchen.

Roach and minnows.

View across The Itchen back to St Catherines HIll

We now reach The Hospital of St Cross , closed due to Covid 19 unfortunately!

The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty is a medieval almshouse in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It has been described as "England's oldest and most perfect almshouse".

It was founded by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William the Conqueror and younger brother to King Stephen in 1136.

The building is constructed of stone and surrounds two quadrangles. The smaller Outer Quadrangle to the north consists of: the outer gate (16th century); the brewhouse (14th century); from the 15th century, the guest wing, kitchen (which had to produce food for thirteen poor men and 100 men at the gates); the porter's lodge and the three-storey Beaufort Tower of c. 1450. This has three niches above the arch, one of which still contains the weathered statue of Cardinal Beaufort, who was Bishop of Winchester, and the tower and spaces above the porter's lodge used to be the Master's lodging.

Passing beneath the tower, the Inner Quadrangle is reached. The north range includes the 14th-century Brethren's Hall (which had to be large enough for the Brethren and 100 poor men), entered via a flight of steps in a stone porch. There is a timber screen with gallery above, within which is also a splendid timber roof, arch braced; a central hearth and a dais where the Master dined with the Brethren in the main part of the hall; and a wooden staircase leading to the Master's rooms in the south-east corner. The main set of two-storeyed lodgings are on the north-west and west sides of the quadrangle; these house the 25 inmates and are notable for the tall, regularly spaced chimneys and doorways, each leading to four sets of apartments. There used to be a corresponding range on the south side joined to the church, but this was demolished in 1789. The eastern or infirmary range is occupied by an ambulatory.

The 12th-century and 13th-century church in the south-east corner is more like a miniature cathedral than a typical almshouse chapel. The building is stone-vaulted throughout, with transepts and a central tower. The walls are over a metre thick, made from stone from Caen, Dorset, and the Isle of Wight as well as local flint. The roof is lead. The building is in Transitional Norman/Gothic style. Started in 1135, the chancel was the first part, built two bays deep with aisles. This is typically Norman, with round-headed windows and much chevron ornament. But the main arches in the arcade and beneath the central tower are slightly pointed in the Gothic manner. The three-bay aisled nave and transepts continue the style. Between 1383 and 1385, a large tracery window was inserted in the west front, and the clerestory windows in the nave were enlarged and a north porch added. Several medieval encaustic tiles survive on the floor. There are also traces of medieval wall paintings. The stained glass is mainly 19th century. The font came from the nearby St Faith's Church, which was demolished in 1507.

The Hospital was used in the filming of The Day of the Triffids, and in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall. It was also featured on Songs of Praise.

We walk through an avenue of trees and eventually back to the car, a great walk at just under 6 miles.

Now back at the car we drive onto Shawford so we can find a place to Wild Swim.

We park up in Shawford Down and walk down Bridge Terrace beneath the Railway lines and along The Itchen Navigation again.
We find the spot we were looking foe Compton Lock, but this was full of kids and their parents leaping into the deep hole Continuously and the other area was fairly shallow. So we walked on crossing a field towards St Marys Church in Twyford.