What’s on in Winchester - April 2023

Spring has arrived and Winchester is gearing up for summer with warmer weather and longer days. If you visit us this month be sure to take a short stroll into town and enjoy our fabulous historic City. With many ancient buildings, including some great traditional pubs, there’s plenty to see. There are also some events of interest this month, so read on for our suggestions.

Located in the historic centre of Winchester, City Museum tells the story of England’s ancient capital, the seat of King Alfred the Great. From an Iron Age trading centre to Anglo‑Saxon importance, the last journey of Jane Austen, to the hunt for King Alfred’s remains, you can explore Winchester’s past and present across the museum’s three galleries. This month the museum is hosting a couple of events that might spark the interest of the little ones…

April 7th - Easter Bunny Meet and Greet - Hop along to City Museum this Easter for a fun family day packed with activities. Test your egg hunting skills, make your own plant pot (complete with a seed to grow at home), and finish your trip by meeting the Easter Bunny. A spring spectacular the kids will love.

April 13th - Ruthless Romans - For one day only, Julius the Roman is stopping over at City Museum to tell you everything that he has learned about Roman life on his travels! Wonder at the curiosities he has collected whilst following the Roman army across the land, and even have a go at making a Roman catapult!

For more details see the City Museum site HERE

If you are visiting later in the month, you can take part in the The Winchester Books Festival.

The aim of the Festival is to celebrate the best of writing and books in the City where one of the UK’s best loved and most celebrated writers, Jane Austen, lived and died. The Festival will be taking place on Friday 21, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April, with a full schedule of events taking place across the City of Winchester. The Festival brings a varied selection of author talks from established as well as debut writers to Winchester. For those hoping to see their own book in print, there will be a session about ‘How to Get Published’ with three local authors facilitated by a leading lecturer in Creative Writing from The University of Winchester. There will also be events for families, and more to explore. Find out more and book tickets for the talks on the Festival site HERE

Winchester Chamber Music Festival is a vibrant and eagerly anticipated event on Hampshire’s cultural calendar. Taking place April 28th-May 1st, the Festival is helmed by the renowned cellist Kate Gould as Artistic Director, alongside her international chamber music colleagues. Since its foundation in 2007 the Festival has grown and become more ambitious in its programming whilst staying true to bringing top quality chamber music to as wide an audience as possible.

This year the festival welcomes some of Europe’s finest musicians including principal players from Aurora Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Welsh National Opera and Amsterdam Sinfonietta. For event details, locations and tickets, see the site HERE

We hope you enjoy your Spring stay with us at The Winchester Hotel & Spa, and please don’t hesitate to ask if we can be of any assistance during your visit. Relax, enjoy, and we’ll be back next month with more.