Hampshire is located on the South Coast of Britain, and neighbours Berkshire, Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire and Dorset. It’s population of just below 1.7 million people makes it the 5th most inhabitated county in the UK. The popluation is spread equally over the county of Hampshire – with the 3 large cities being Southampton, Portsmouth and Basingstoke.
The other towns of note though, which include Winchester, Gosport, Aldershot, Farnborough, Alresford and Andover.
The Cathedral city of Winchester, was once not only the capital of Hampshire, but also the capital of England, it wasn’t until the Norman times, when London evolved into the capital city. Winchester is the home of a magnificent cathedral, that was originally built around 1079. The cathedral was used recently in the Hollywood movie “Elizabeth – The Golden Age” which featured the brilliant actors Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen.
Two of Britian’s most notable authors also originated from Hampshire – Charles Dickens and Jane Austin, who are buried in Winchester Cathedral. You can still visit Jane Austin’s home in Selbourne – close to.
The County of Hampshire has excellent transport routes of all kinds. These consist of an international airport in Southampton. South West trains travel over the county on the way to London and the M3 motorway goes through the county diagonally from South West to North East on it’s way from Southampton to London.There are also ferry routes to France and the Isle of Wight from Southampton and Portsmouth.
One well known place of notice in Hampshire is the Watercress Line – that is located amid Alton and Alresford. It is a heritage steam railway that frequently hosts Thomas the Tank Engine and is a popular tourist draw.
Within Hampshire there are 24 independent secondary schools in the county as well as a large number of sixth form colleges and an amount of universities – including Southampton, Solent, Portsmouth, Winchester and Farnborough College of Technology.
Farnborough is well known for it’s biannual air show – which attracts over 150,000 visitors. The show has been hosted in Farnborough since 1948 and attracts well known acts like the Red Devils.
A large quantity of the New Forest is also located in Hampshire. Roughly 90% of the forest is still owned by the Royal Family and it is territory to a quantity of different species of deer including Red deer, Roe deer, Muntjac and Sike deer. The forest spans 16,000 acres.
