Market Towns & Villages

Hampshire's market towns offer hidden delights, from independent shops selling antiques, crafts and gifts to welcoming pubs and restaurants with delicious local food.

Hampshire's Towns

In Hampshire's towns you'll find interesting historic buildings and fascinating museums while in the unspoilt villages there are thatched cottages, ancient churches and lovely gardens - the English countryside at its best, providing the ultimate rural escape.

Many Hampshire towns have regular markets and the Hampshire Farmers' Markets also tour the county, offering tempting local produce such as sausages, smoked trout, chutneys, honey and organic meats.

Some of the most interesting towns near Winchester include Alresford, home of Hampshire's watercress industry, Bishop's Waltham, with its ancient ruins, and Wickham, with its Georgian houses and medieval square.

The Georgian town of Lymington, with its yacht harbour on the Lymington River, has many tempting shops and restaurants while Lyndhurst, Fordingbridge and Ringwood are also well worth a visit.

Andover, Stockbridge and Romsey in the Test Valley benefit from river views, fine buildings and good shops while in East and North Hampshire you'll find the attractive towns and villages of Petersfield, Alton and Odiham and novelist Jane Austen's former home at Chawton.

Hampshire's Villages

Some of Hampshire's prettiest villages include Chilbolton, in Test Valley, with its attractive thatched houses, and the unspoilt villages of Selborne and Buriton near Petersfield, surrounded by steep hills and lovely walks.

St Mary Bourne, on the Test Way, has beautiful old houses in brick and flint while Wherwell in the Test Valley has timber-framed cottages and is one of Hampshire's most picturesque villages.

Cheriton, near Winchester, has a village green, fine pub and stream while East Meon, in the stunning Meon Valley, has a Norman church and riverside setting.

In the New Forest, the beautiful villages of Beaulieu and Buckler's Hard epitomise chocolate box charm and also offer fine restaurants, riverside walks and local museums.