Read my Stoke travelogue here.

The twenty-third city on my list is the Hampshire city of Winchester which you will find sixty miles southwest of London.

As we all know by now, “Chester” comes from an old Latin word meaning castle. The win is derived from “Venta,” – an old Anglo-Saxon term meaning meeting place. Quite literally, Winchester means the meeting place by the church. Another etymology argues that “venta” means white referring to the chalk hills you find in Winchester.

My journey to Winchester began at 11.05 where I took the South West rail train from London Waterloo. An hour later, I arrived.

There were no roadworks, so that was an instant plus over Stoke or Gloucester. The first thing I saw was a sign for a beer and cider festival happening at the end of June, followed by a sign for a chilli and cheese festival happening at the start of June. Had I come to Winchester at the wrong time? But I also saw a sign for a nearby Pan-Asian noodle bar, so I decided to get lunch here.

Usually, I wouldn’t eat at the first place I see, but my tummy was wailing louder than an Irish banshee, plus they sold bento boxes and chips for £6, which I thought was a decent price. It was half the price of what I ate in Hereford and almost £10 cheaper than a similar meal I ate in Exeter. And considering Winchester has a reputation of being one of the UK’s most expensive cities, I thought £6 was reasonable.

Alas, it was 12.15 by this point and the bar called Go Bento didn’t open until 12.30 so I walked into the city. I saw an Indian restaurant called Rim Jhim, which was the last thing I wanted to do to Jim.

I also saw a Methodist church that I couldn’t enter as it was closed, a Baptist church I couldn’t enter because it was closed and lastly a Catholic church that I couldn’t enter as they were having mass.

I also saw a statue of Licorica – a 13th century Jewish businesswoman and community leader.

Although my attempts to explore churches were a fail this killed enough time for Go Bento to be open upon my return. I bought a Sweet Chilli Chicken bento and chips for £6.

Ideally, I wanted to eat this at Winchester Cathedral, but I needed to find it first. I did see what I thought was the cathedral, but it turned out to be St Nicholas’ church, which had been converted into a block of flats. Better than being torn down I guess.

At ten past one, I finally found the cathedral.

Did I go in? Long enough to take a cheeky picture, but not for long enough that I would be tempted to pay the £14 entry fee. I could understand Winchester’s affluent reputation – similar to Oxford in this regard.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my bento even if the chips were unseasoned. And it was pleasant eating it in the cathedral grounds with the sun beating down on me. I wasn’t alone either. Plenty of other Winchestrians including this massive group of Italian school kids who were also have their lunch there.

At 1.45, it was time to continue exploring the city. I wanted to visit the city museum, but it was closed, for whatever reason. You probably had to pay anyway. Instead, I wandered around the city centre, which like St Alban’s had a charming mix of old and new buildings. Alas, like Lincoln, it was also very hilly.

I looked in a couple of charity shops in the hopes of slowly replacing the wardrobe I am outgrowing, but there was nothing that fit me. Outside, however, there was a street preacher who got loudly heckled by the charity shop volunteer.

After the charity shops, I walked through this little park

which took me back to the cathedral. It was two by now, so it was time to explore a different section of the city. This meant going uphill under the old city gate.

Eventually, I passed the Great Hall (I don’t know what this was as I didn’t want to pay the £9 entry fee) and finished at the Military Museum. This also had an entry fee, so I didn’t enter it. Instead, I walked to the nearby spectacular Peninsula barracks.

Originally, William the Conqueror built a castle there before it was demolished in the 17th century. But from 1796 to 1994 they were used as soldier’s barracks, before being turned into private apartments. But the actual grounds were gorgeous. A definite highlight of the trip.

After exiting the groups, I stumbled upon yet another church – Christ Church. It looked like this one was closed too, but I pressed the doorbell and, lo and behold, I was permitted entry.

The church warden, who introduced herself as Jenny, was more than happy to welcome me in and show me around the church. She explained it was 160 years old and it was the beating heart of the community holding events and services for families, the elderly and students.

But the most noteworthy section was the hot tub where baptisms happened.

I have never seen a hot tub in a church before. Jenny also recommended me another nearby church I should visit – St Paul’s. She was very friendly and I’m glad I rang the doorbell instead of just walking away. As the saying goes, if you don’t ask you don’t get. Sure, this church wasn’t as big or as fancy as the cathedral, but it was free.

Anyway, at two thirty it was time to return to the city centre where I saw an old bakery and visited Britain’s oldest bookshop.

I quickly realised that I was in the student area of the city judging by how I was walking past the prestigious Winchester College. But there was a small museum attached to the college. It was free so naturally I had a look. It is here that I learned that famed writer Jane Austen had a strong connection to Winchester even being buried in the cathedral. I also saw a statue of a faun, which definitely looked more human than goat.

By three, I was itching to look at some nature and Winchester was only too happy to oblige. I stumbled upon the River Itchen, which flows through the city. I could have followed this river all the way to Southampton, but I’ve already been there so I didn’t need to go there again.

The River Itchen looked like a fairy tale in the May sunshine. But the most magical, if you will, thing was there was a random herd of cows right by the river. You could go up to them and stroke them. Well you couldn’t as they were so skittish, but it was just unexpected and special. Another highlight for sure. The definite lowlight was all the cow shit lying around, which my …. friend stepped in.

I surfaced at a bridge that lay at the base of a massive hill. This hill was St Catherine’s Hill – a huge chalk hill on the outskirts of the city. Naturally, I hiked to the top where I saw some stunning views of Winchester. It was incredible. And I was the only one there. I’ve always said that Chester and Milton Keynes had some gorgeous natural landscape, but Winchester was even better.

After this it was time to return to the city centre by following the River Itchen. This deposited me by the city’s old mill which was closed.

It was 4 now and I wanted to visit St Paul’s church, but I got distracted by another church – John the Baptism, which was also inaccessible, like most of the churches in Winchester. I also saw this unfortunately named hill.

But when I eventually found my way back to the city, I discovered another two charity shops including an Oxfam book shop. Here I bought On the Road by Jack Kerouac. As well as visiting every English city and watching every film on the 2015 edition of the Top 1000 movies of All time, I’m also – incredibly slowly – reading every book on the Top 50 books to read before you die list. And if you’re wondering, I have read 38 books on that list.

By now it was nearing five so I wanted to visit St Paul’s Church before it was time to go home. But en route I tried my luck with the Catholic church that I wasn’t able to visit earlier. Considering mass had long finished, I was able to look around no problem.

I even lit a candle for a treasured acquaintance that died recently. After getting lost I finally found the church that Jenny had recommended to me earlier. It was a pretty little church which best of all had free toilets that I could use. Alas, I could not stay there long as they were locking up, but I was able to rest there before my train home.

And at 6.20, I was on the train back to London. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Winchester. Despite its reputation as one of the UK’s most expensive cities, I found cheaper or even free alternatives to everything I wanted to do. My lunch was yummy, the natural scenery was superlative and I saw a whole herd of cows. And that wraps up my day in Winchester: it was a day of bento boxes, hot tubs in churches and a whole load of cows. Wakefield. You’re next.