Winchester is a beautiful, old town full of stunning architecture, great shops and a fantastic range of independent eateries and coffee shops. It’s a great place to visit for the day at any time of year, but it’s particularly good at Christmas time! Every year throughout November and December Winchester Cathedral hosts a spectacularly good Christmas market.
On the 1st of December we headed into Winchester for breakfast and a morning exploring the Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market. I’d advise getting to Winchester fairly early if you’re driving in, as it becomes quite difficult to park when the market is in town! Alternatively, you can leave your car at the park & ride and skip the Christmas traffic by getting the bus into town.
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It was a cold, drizzly day when we visited the market, but we didn’t let it dampen our spirits and we headed over to the Cathedral to explore the stands at the market. It’s free to go to the market, and the stalls are bursting with festive fare, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. It’s the perfect place to go to feel all Christmassy!
You’ll find Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market in the grounds of the cathedral, spread out across a large area. Each year, the market opens at the end of November and runs until the end of December.
For more local events in Hampshire, check out my calendar of events here!
If you’re feeling a little more adventurous than we were, there’s an ice rink in the middle of the market so you can get your skate on. We decided that we weren’t in the mood on this occasion!
Tom and I went along to the Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market with our friends Bex (find her blog here) and Henry. We were layered up to the max, complete with bobble hats and feeling oh so cosy!
The stalls are bursting with handmade wreaths and garlands, local gins (hello Winchester Distillery), quirky gifts and of course, food!
We stopped for some mulled wine to warm up – by the time we reached the mulled wine cart, we were a little damp! However, we didn’t let the weather ruin our day, and embraced it. Wandering around the stalls, browsing handmade gifts with a cup of warm mulled wine is the perfect way to spend a drizzly December day at Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market.
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The food stalls are rather tempting, and we did come away with a chocolate to try – just the one though, they’re massive! There’s also traditional raclette on offer, served melted over a steaming hot bowl of potatoes and sausages. What a perfect combination of flavours! Raclette served this way is one of my favourite foods at Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market, and I’m already looking forward to eating some more next year!
If you’re looking for a fun, festive day out in Hampshire, look no further! Whether you’re planning a family day out, or a fun morning with friends, the Christmas market at Winchester Cathedral is the perfect place for a spot of Christmas shopping, washed down with mulled wine. There are plenty of cute coffee shops and restaurants to keep you busy for the rest of the day as well!
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Looks amazing, you certainly captured the Christmassy feeling, I love it, shame it was so wet, it didn’t spoil the fun 😘.