New Alresford

This pretty Georgian market town is a small district of Winchester, in Hampshire. I came across this when I took the Watercress Line (more on that later) as part of a day trip and bucket list item. I found the town so charming, that I brought my sister back with me to show her it.

It’s very easy to find on-street parking in either the T-shaped town itself, or at the train station, just off the main high street.

There is actually an Old Alresford and a New Alresford, the former being the original Alresford that was noted in the Domesday. It belonged to the Bishop of Winchester, who built the Great Weir, in order to create a fish bond. This pond essentially provided a head of water for the mills downstream and of course, water transportation of goods would help a place to prosper, as they could be floated to Winchester. New Alresford was established between Henri De Blois and Godfrey de Lucy between the 12^th and 13^th centuries. It became a profitable town, particularly in wool and leather goods, with sheep markets proving particularly lucrative.

Alresford has had his ups and downs in terms of prosperity and poverty through its early years but these days New Alresford is featuring on best places to live in the South East type of lists and getting recognition for its peaceful and rural location, community feel and the many independent shops it has.

So lets explore it!

Walkers

Whilst walking around, the buildings that you’ll see today exist after a history of fires. The most destructive fire was in 1689 when 117 houses were burned down, along with the Church and Market House. It seems to have gone through constant reconstruction before other fires hit, with disastrous outcomes. The fires seemed to have stopped as building materials improved, slate roofing replaced thatch and so on. So what you see today, is really mostly Georgian and there are some lovely pastel-coloured houses.

It doesn’t take too long to walk around the town of New Alresford and that may be enough for you. If you don’t come across this accidentally, I’d love to point you in the direction of a lovely river walk, called the Millenium Trail. It links footpaths around the town and is truly tranquil. It’s about a mile long. You can start the walk from the Station Yard or, if you have less time like I did, head down Broad Street and Mill Lane and looped back up at the park at the Recreation Ground. I missed a lot of the sights I’d hope to see, so I still need to complete that. You’ll still get to go past the Fulling Mill, which today is a residence, having ceased operation in the 19^th century.

Being so close to the South Downs, there are numerous walks you can do in this area; it really is a beautiful place, so carve out some extra time to fit this in if you are a keen walker.

You’re also just about 20 minutes drive from Blackwood Forest, which has some stunning walks (we did this as part of a Forest Holiday there before).

Drinkers

There are a few places you could stop for a drink after a nice long walk or drive to get here. Although we weren’t stopping for long these times, I’d try any of the pubs along the main stretch, only as that is all that I saw.

Shoppers

Alresford was once known for it’s galleries and collector items. You can still find a couple of antique shops and alongside this, a nice selection of traditional shops with a bakery, fishmonger and deli. I feel like this town has just enough of everything you might need without needing to go to a bigger town.

We stopped in Roxtons, I hadn’t realised this was a small chain and the items they stock are really lovely from clothes to gifts. We also popped into the Wild Bunch Florists and the Alresford Gift shop, both with an excellent choice (I got an amazing bag in the gift shop!). And finally, swooned over many many items of clothing in Moda Rosa.

The old fire station is quite prominent in view and it’s great to discover that it’s in use, now as Art Worthy – a picture framing shop.

I didn’t get a chance to go to:
Laurence Oxley Bookshop and Gallery, but hopefully next time, as I love the idea of the idea of literature and art sharing space under one roof.

The Oakmoor Hare – I’d arrived too late to pop into this lovely looking furniture renovation store.

Cafes/Restaurants

Again there are some nice choices here. We briefly popped into the award-winning Tiffin Tearooms to look at their take away options and it all smelt and looked delicious.

We didn’t stop but places on my list to try next time would be and there really is a lot of choice and a lot of highly-reviewed places to try:
The Sandwich Shop
La Piccola
The Town House
Pulpo Negro – which I am the most excited about. I loved the setting and the cuisine sounds amazing

Places to stay

You could easily find a comfortable bed for the night here; it definitely has that feel (well it did for me), that I could while away some time here and then be welcomed to stay at one of the hotels. Having had a look on the outside and online, I’d love to try the Bell/Market Inn or the Swan Hotel. They main be on the main high street but it’s just a peaceful and quiet place that I don’t think you would notice it.

Sightseeing

One of the things I spotted as we walked around was this sign on the wall of one of the houses, in Broad Street. Fascinating what you find by slowing down and taking it all in.

One thing you should definitely do while you are here is take a ride on the steam train, on the Watercress Line. This was once running from Winchester to Alton, where you could change to get to London. It’s name comes from the fact that locally grown watercress use to be taken to London via this line and it’s stuck! In fact the town was popular for it’s watercress farming and there is still an annual festival that happens every third Sunday of May; think street market and locally made food on sale (one for my diary!). The line closed in 1973 but from Alfresford to Alton you can now take a steam and diesel trains. It’s a 10-mile trip there and back; either check out Alton or stay on and simply enjoy the scenery. We did stop at Alton, but I could have just as happily stayed on and come straight back. It’s a nice little nostalgic memory, the stations have been perfectly restored.

The town also hosts an agricultural show every September with animals, flowers and vegetable competitions, plus other entertainment.

And I read that they have a bi-annual Duck Race too in June, with the event sposnsored by local families and businesses. Head to the lawn at Weir House!

St Johns Church is tucked behind the high street, but of course you only need to look up from a few steps back to see it.

Things I’d like to do:

Chocolate Craft – because who doesn’t want to learn about the history of chocolate whilst making it!?
Alpacas of Alresford; I hadn’t realised this was here and they encourage you to come and picnic with them too. So adorable!

Would I return here?

I think if you’re going to come here you could really tie make a decent weekend of this. I think if you incorporated a lovely long walk, a mooch about the town, a steam train ride and a hearty dinner at one of the amazing looking restaurants, that you’d go home happy that you’d covered the main bases. I still feel there is more to check out in Alresford and so I’ll be back. It’s the kind of place though that you could also pop to a tearoom with a friend or loved one and still feel that you’d had a pleasant afternoon in a welcoming town out in the countryside.