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Herald Sun
23-04-2025
- Herald Sun
What to do in Southampton before and after your cruise
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News. Got a cruise departing from or headed to Southampton? Whether you've only got a few hours to spare, or a few days to enjoy, there's plenty to see and do while you're in town. Here's how to make the most of your time: Southampton If you've only got a few hours… Do you feel like a walk, or would you rather relax and take in a few sights? Those who prefer to keep moving are best advised to undertake the QE2 Mile, a self-guided walking route that runs past the city's medieval town walls (some of the most complete in Britain) which features six gates, 13 towers, 90 listed buildings and 30 ancient monuments across a single kilometre. If you're keen to explore the city's maritime history - not to mention its links with the ill-fated Titanic, head over to SeaCity Museum, a 20-minute walk from the port. Here, two key exhibitions detail the city's connection with the sea (including the harrowing Titanic Story) but those visiting in 2025 can also see the new Jane Austen exhibition - a tribute to the author's time here. Southampton's striking Sea City Museum. Wander back toward the port through the Old Town (you can also opt to take the self-guided, hour-long Titanic Trail which takes in a number of memorials and other places of interest tied to the maritime disaster) and grab a table at La Regata. The Spanish tapas restaurant is located across the road from the port and is the perfect place to enjoy the scenery (and some unbelievably good paella). Got time? Pop in for a quick pint at the Dancing Man Brewery on your way to the ship. Eat up at La Regata. Southampton if you're overnighting… Do yourself a favour and check into Pig-In The Wall, a quaint 12-room property located a 15-minute walk from the port. Here you've got the perfect property which screams 'You're in England' - a dining space where couples sip tea among an eccentric curation of antiques, quirky rooms with stand-alone baths (in some) and a mouthwatering menu which does wonders with earthy vegetables. Overnight at the Pig in the Wall hotel. Picture: Jake Eastham. Now that you've got a little more time on your hands you'll want to tack on a visit to God's House Tower, an historic arts and heritage venue which brings the stories of Southampton - plus the property's past as a gaol, gunpowder tower and a mortuary, among other things - through its Stories Behind the Stones exhibition. A visit to nearby Tudor House and Garden, one of Southampton's most historic buildings (parts of it dating back to the 12th century) completes the 'trip back in time' element to your visit. Here, interactive exhibitions showcase how locals lived throughout the centuries and you can even dress up and take photos in traditional Tudor garments. Take a moment to indulge in a little shopping therapy in Westquay Shopping Centre before popping in for an early dinner at The White Star Tavern, an award-winning pub and restaurant where many guests of the Titanic stayed before boarding the ship. Located on vibrant Oxford Street where a number of restaurants and pubs vie for your attention, take a moment to wander before taking a table to enjoy the new menu, teeming with all the English favourites. High on the list? Their curry pie is outstanding. Southampton's old town bristles with historic architecture. Southampton at your leisure… Whether you've got a few days before your cruise or immediately afterwards, there's plenty to do in Southampton and the surrounding Hampshire area. To start with, add seeing a production at the Mayflower Theatre to the above list, and consider tacking on a day trip to the Isle of Wight - an hour-long ferry crossing from Southampton. Famous for its beaches and seaside promenades, Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle are just two of the drawcards. The Mayflower Studios is one of Southampton's cultural hubs. A 20-minute Uber ride from Southampton lies the picturesque city of Winchester which used to be the country's capital. While its spectacular cathedral remains the jewel in its crown, a stroll along the high street, plus a tour of Winchester College, one of the country's most exclusive schools, are clear highlights. Do yourself a favour and book into the Kyoto Rooms following a traditional Omakase experience in Kyoto Kitchen below. Pub grub, while always appreciated, sometimes calls for a circuit breaker and this standout venue delivers in spades. The writer was a guest of Visit Southampton. Originally published as What to do in Southampton before and after your cruise
The Guardian
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Bath, balls and Darcy's pile: where to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th anniversary
Southampton has a significant part to play in the Austen story: after the death of her father in 1805, she moved with her mother and sister to live in the city for three years, taking a house on Castle Square. The Jane Austen Heritage Trail links eight sites around the city that the younger Jane would have known, including the Dolphin Hotel (currently facing an uncertain redevelopment future) where she attended a ball to celebrate her 18th birthday ( A new Austen-focused exhibition opens at the Sea City Museum on 29 March, bringing together rarely seen letters, paintings and personal items belonging to Austen. A Very Respectable Company – Jane Austen and her Southampton Circle also focuses on Austen's circle of female friends, many of whom found their way into her books. Stay at the Pig in the Wall, with just eight shabby-chic bedrooms and a cosy lounge-deli-dining room, serving the best local produce (room-only doubles from £145, Chawton would be just another small, unremarkable Hampshire village, if it wasn't for the fact Austen spent the last eight years of her life there, revising and writing all six of her novels. Her cottage was a gift from her brother, Edward Knight, who owned the Chawton Estate and lived in the Elizabethan manor house. Both are now museums. Jane Austen's House has a year-long programme of events, beginning with the Spring Fling: Sense & Sensibility Festival (1-11 May), which combines guided tours with live performances, workshops and late-night openings, followed by Emma (12-20 July) and Persuasion & Poetry (12-21 September), with winter happenings for her Birthday Celebration Week (13-21 December, The Chawton Library has an exhibition, Sisters of the Pen: Austen, Influence, Legacy, that brings together works by women which shaped, and were shaped, by Austen, along with exhibits, including first editions of her novels ( The Jane Austen Trail follows the route she often walked to the nearby town of Alton, where the 17th-century Swan Hotel makes an ideal period base (room-only doubles from £76, She might have called it 'the most tiresome place in the world' but Bath's history is inextricably entwined with Austen's, who lived in the city from 1801-6, when the town was at the height of fashion as a spa resort. The entire city is a Unesco World Heritage Site (one of only two in Europe, along with Venice), a lattice of honey-hued Georgian streets, colonnades and squares, centred around the original Roman baths. Visitors can take afternoon tea in the original Pump Room, soak in the rooftop pool at the Thermae Bath Spa and even sip the 43-mineral-rich waters. But this year, more than ever, the focus is on Bath's most beloved literary figure. The Jane Austen Centre offers an excellent introduction to her life in the city, with costumed characters, interactive exhibits and a film of the locations that inspired her writing. For Austen 250, the Centre is holding three-themed balls (31 May, 28 June and 13 December), with dance workshops before the events ( To dive more deeply into Austen's sentiments towards Bath, No 1 Royal Crescent's exhibition, The Most Tiresome Place in the World, brings together letters and the only manuscript she wrote while living in the city (5 July- 2 November, Bath's annual Jane Austen Festival gets supercharged this year, with 10 days of balls, country dances, workshops and talks, alongside the largest Regency Costume parade in the world, with soldiers and drummers alongside ladies and gentlemen in full period dress (12-21 September, Stay in one of the elegantly converted Georgian townhouses at No 15 Bath by Guesthouse, where the rooms come with record-players and vinyl, the tea and coffee tray is hidden in a doll's house, there's a complimentary pantry of goodies for post-sightseeing snacking, and an innovative menu of small and larger plates (and wickedly-good cocktails) in the stylish bar (doubles from £147, room-only, It might not quite have had the swoon factor of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy, but Joe Wright's 2005 film of Pride & Prejudice gave Chatsworth a starring role as Pemberton, Darcy's vast country pile. On 13-15 June, the Derbyshire estate steps back into its Regency-era past with a weekend dedicated to all things Austen, with talks, garden tours and an Austen-inspired theatre production, along with the chance to try on Regency fashions (although visitors are encouraged to come along in period dress). The estate has a range of places to stay, from self-catering cottages to pubs and a hotel; the Pilsley Inn is the cosiest, with 13 stylish bedrooms and firelit dining rooms serving well-made pub classics (doubles from £135 room-only, Austen spent her final days in Winchester in 1817 and is buried in the north aisle of the city's imposing, 11th-century cathedral. No 8 College Street, the house where Austen spent her last weeks, and where she died on 18 July 1817, will be open to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays from 4 June to 30 August ( while the Cathedral will host a series of events, including a Regency Ball on 31 May, Austen-themed guided tours and talks and an interactive family trail ( Stay at the Wykeham Arms, a rambling, eclectically furnished gastropub with an award-winning restaurant. It offers luxe bedrooms with Bramley products and Egyptian cotton bedding, perfect for retiring to bed with a good book (doubles from £134,
