Wolvesey Castle, the Old Bishop's Palace - From 670 to the present day, the succession of the Bishops of Winchester is unbroken. In medieval times, two cardinals, two papal legates, a chief justice, two keepers of the royal seal, four treasurers and ten chancellors of England were chosen from their number. Henry VIII's once trusted adviser Cardinal Wolsey is perhaps the most infamous.
English Heritage consider the Bishop's Palace as one of the greatest medieval buildings in England, the palace was the chief residence of the Bishops of Winchester. Started in the early 1100s by Bishop William Giffard and then greatly extended by Bishop Henri de Blois the palace was used for many centuries for the visits of royalty and the nobility. By the mid 1600s the palace had been virtually abandoned, the bishops prefering to stay at Farnham or Southwark Palace. By the end of the 18th century the palace had been robbed of its stone, leaving the ruins largely as they appear today.

A patchwork of fields. This one and the others away in the distance are growing borage.

Coming in for the attack! A Comma butterfly about to be chased off by a bee. It's something I've often noticed, as soon as a butterfly lands on a plant and starts feeding it's chased away, usually by a bee of some description.

With the summer well under way it's time to bring in the harvest...

...a farmer's work is never done.

The Georgian market town of Lymington received its first charter around 1200 and became a free port, it also gained a reputation for smuggling, the smugglers using the busy harbour to bring their illegal goods ashore. The town's main source of revenue was its salt-refining industry which reached a peak in the early 18th-century. Shipbuilding in the area goes back centuries but today it's mainly confined to small boat and yacht building. Every Saturday the town's 700-year old market is still held in the High Street.

A few of what must be hundreds of boats berthed at the Lymington Yacht Haven.

Portchester Castle is in essence a Roman fortress built on a low promontory on the northern edge of Portsmouth Harbour. Constructed to protect the coast against invaders in the late 3rd century, it was one of the largest Roman - Saxon Shore Forts to be built. With its 10 feet thick walls it's regarded as one of the best preserved Roman fortresses in northern Europe. The view from the top of the Norman keep shows the remains of the castle and the layout of the grounds that date back to Roman times. The Norman Castle uses two walls of the Roman fort and on the other two sides a moat was built. The church in the south-east corner dates to about 1128 when it was the church of the Augustinian priory. Nothing remains of the priory but the church of St. Mary is now the parish church of Portchester.

Ovington - The bridge over the River Itchen and the path that leads you back to Itchen Stoke.

After weeks of high temperatures things had to change, and with the change came several very spectacular thunder and lightening storms. This one passed over Winchester and travelled along the Itchen Valley towards Alresford.

Caption details are based on the latest available  information and are accurate to the best of my knowledge. Although the images are heavily compressed you are welcome to use them for your own non-commercial use.   If you do please credit HampshireCam or add a link  to these  pages.

        All Photographs copyright David Packman © 2002 - 2009 (All Rights Reserved)