I hopped on a train last Saturday and traveled the short distance to Winchester, the historic capital of Wessex, and had a very enjoyable couple of hours looking round Wessex Quiltmakers‘ triennial exhibition. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking:
And a couple of medallion-type quilts (with Melanie of Catbird Quilt Studio in mind :-))
There were lots more quilts including a lovely selection ready to be sent to Project Linus.
After a cup of coffee, a slice of delicious homemade lemon drizzle cake, and a bit of retail therapy at the Exhibition I took a wander round the centre of Winchester. It is a city rich in history; the Romans settled there nearly 2,000 years ago and created a single river course out of two which still runs through the city today; and in Anglo Saxon times King Alfred the Great (reigned 871-901) made Winchester the capital of his Kingdom.
The huge cathedral nestles in the lowest levels of the city close to the river and it’s long, high nave is the burial place of many ancient kings and bore witness to the marriage of Queen Mary to Philip II of Spain in 1554.
Sections of a medieval wall form part of the perimeter confines of the Cathedral close and buildings. On my walk I followed the outside of the wall and found the Georgian house where Jane Austen spent her last days as well as some much older buildings still in daily use.
Thank you to Wessex Quiltmakers for providing the perfect excuse for a day out!
Allison
What a great way to spend a day quilts and history!
It was a great day! Thanks for stopping by Cindy.
Although I do prefer modern fabrics I do like the civil
War quilt
Yes! I do too, for me it’s the colours and ‘homely’ fabric patterns – a bit like visiting an elderly aunt or grandmother!
Beautiful quilts but they can hardly compete with the pictures of Winchester! Looks like an amazing place to visit.
It is really! Because it’s so close I forget what a privilege it is to be able to whizz down on the train in just 15 minutes!
Thanks for sharing your day with us Allison, I really enjoyed the pictures !
How charming it sounds to be able to hop on a train. We don’t have many trains here, at least not passenger trains. What a wonderful way to travel! The photos of the village are beautiful. The river — is that a photo of the river? — seems so high and close to the street. Lucky you to be able to visit such historic places.
Yes! It’s good to be reminded not to take all these things for granted. Passenger train travel is relatively easy here and in fact the roads are now so crowded rail travel is a good option (though longer distances are not cheap!).The river flows very fast through Winchester but rarely floods – clever old Romans!