Group Travel Tour Operator and DMC for Hampshire
Discover Hampshire and Jane Austen
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Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire - 1917 Plaque ©Peter Smith, Jane Austen's House
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Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire - Lady in doorway ©Rob Stothard for Jane Austen's House
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Jane Austen's house museum ©Jane Austen's house museum
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Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire - Pride and Prejudice first edition ©Peter Smith, Jane Austen's House Museum
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The South front of Hinton Ampner with the lawn and flower border ©National Trust Images, James Dobson
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The Library at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire ©National Trust Images, James Dobson
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The fireplace in the Entrance Hall at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire ©National Trust Images, James Dobson
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Engine at Milestones Museum of Living History
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Streets 'History Saves the World' at Milestones Museum of Living History
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Teddy Bears at Milestones Museum of Living History
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Mid Hampshire railway, Alresford, Mid Hants Railway SM©S Morley
On this tour, we discover Hampshire and find out more about Jane Austen, one of England’s favourite authors. Visit the home of Jane Austen at Chawton where she spent the last 8 years of her life. The famous author did most of her mature writing here including ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Emma’. Also, see her final resting place in Winchester Cathedral, a towering gothic building. Experience a Hampshire highlight as you take a ride of the steam-hauled Watercress Line. See paintings and other art objects at the National Trust’s Hilton Ampner. Visit Milestones Living History Museum before taking a relaxing cruise on the Basingstoke Canal.
Dates
April - October 2024 & 2025
Suggested itinerary by coach
Day 1
Travel to your hotel
Day 2
Watercress Line and Hinton Ampner
We start our Hampshire discovery in the market town of Alton (Tuesday market). We join the ‘Watercress Line’ (the Mid Hants Railway – running selected dates), for the 10 mile journey to Alresford. Re joining the coach we travel on to the National Trust’s Hilton Ampner, an elegant country house with an outstanding collection of furniture, paintings and objets d’art. The garden is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of 20th century garden design.
Day 3
Milestones and Basingstoke Canal Cruise
Milestones, Hampshire’s Living History Museum, comes as something of a surprise. Inside what looks a modern sports hall is a remarkable recreation of a Victorian town, with cobbled streets, traditional shops, a village green, a pub, a large collection of commercial vehicles including a tram and a bus, penny slot machines, costumed characters and much more. In the afternoon we take a relaxing 2½ hour cruise on the Basingstoke Canal.
Day 4
Jane Austen’s House Museum and Winchester Cathedral
We visit Chawton and the house where Jane Austen lived for the last eight years of her life and where she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. In Winchester we visit the magnificent Cathedral and see where she was buried. Don’t miss a visit to The Great Hall to see the greatest symbol of medieval mythology, King Arthur’s Round Table.
Day 5
Return home
Greatdays offer a selection of quality hotels in Southampton.
| Dates | 5 days / 4 nights |
| 2024 dates | Price on request |
| 2025 dates | From £499.00 per person |
Single room supplement available upon request.
