Well this should be fun! This is my first dedicated city guide on the blog and I’m starting off with Winchester. Halfway between my student town Bournemouth and London, it’s a pretty cool place to go for the day (or two).

I’ve picked out a selection of cool spots we visited whilst we were there and ones I can definitely vouch for. If I had some kind of approval stamp they’d all get one. If you do follow my recommendations, first of all thank you for trusting me with your day, and secondly let me know what you thought to them.

Where to stay? No. 5 Bridge Street

If you’re planning on staying overnight and want somewhere to rest your head then the No. 5 Bridge Street is a great option. Located right in the centre, it’s in a really good spot. I think when both Emily and myself walked in we got the vibe of a nice bedroom rather than a hotel room, which is definitely a good feeling. The last thing you want to be doing is worrying about doing something wrong. It should be a space that you feel relaxed in, can chill and get excited about going to sleep on the massive bed! Oh and the shower was great to wake me up with Pinterest perfect white tiles and rainfall showerhead. If you know what I mean then I tip my hat off to you.

Where to shop? The Consortium and The Hambledon

The Consortium

In Winchester you’ll inevitably visit the Winchester Cathedral with it being quite a small city so I’m just talking about the shops and food places that may slip you by. The Consortium is at the top end of town and is full of small and large-scale homeware and furniture pieces spread across three floors. A couple favourites for me were the Scandinavian-esque throws and cycling prints. I know my dad would love them! In the basement they had some vintage furniture that had been upholstered and it just gets my head spiralling with flat and house ideas, something I definitely don’t need as a soon to be unemployed graduate.

The Hambledon

Now this is my pick of the bunch, but that’s not to the demeanour of any of my other selections. The Hambledon just had a selection of both menswear and homeware under one roof that ticked every box for me, so kudos to the buyers of this amazing store in Winchester. It had me being a book enthusiast and card hoarder wannabe on the ground floor, and a selective menswear buyer in the basement. And I say selective as I could of picked up so much more if it wasn’t for the woes of student loan. I walked out with the Converse Hi 70s and a Norse t-shirt from the Spring Summer collection. Special mention to Rob for the interesting chats.

Where to eat? Rawberry, Caracoli, Coffee Lab and No. 5 Bridge Inn

Rawberry

It is at this point that I should mention I’m not normally health conscious about my drinks or food, but Emily is trying out healthy eating as much as possible so we found Rawberry, a cool little juice bar on St. George’s Street. Packed with loads of goodness of nice ingredients we had a couple juices and split a halloumi wrap mid-adventuring. Like all the places we went, it had a really cool shop fit and a really relaxed feel that made Rawberry even better.

Caracoli

Of course what would a city guide be without knowing where the best coffee is? I visited two coffee whilst we were in Winchester, but I definitely think I could have squeezed one more in. I ordered a fantastic flat white in Caracoli whilst being tempted by all their cakes.

Coffee Lab

With a more relaxed feel and slightly away from the high street is Coffee Lab. Just opening up last month, Coffee Lab is an independent (tick) and serves up amazing coffee. What’s not to like? I can only see this place getting more popular, over spilling to the outside bench of the café most days.

No. 5 Bridge Street (food)

Our bed for the night was also our dinner spot. As we were just staying for the one night we could only choose one place for the guide, but it sure is a good one at that. Serving up some really good options on the night and the friendliest of waitresses who happened to do the same course as me - hi if you’re reading this -this was perfect for our trip away. And only a short walk away for a drink was The Black Boy to end our night. I’ve left some more recommendations below food wise, that I’ve read, looked and have been told about.

Other spots to visit if you have the time!

There is only so much coffee, food and cool shops we could visit in a couple days so here are a few other recommendations I think are definitely worth going to: Rick Stein, The Green Man, The Corner House, Black White Red and The Itchen Way Walk (when it’s nice weather). 

I hope you enjoyed this small guide with all my favourites included. The next place I plan to visit is Brighton so if you’re familiar with the area please do leave a comment below so I can check it out. Thanks so much, Jordan.