Luxury holidays in Hampshire

If it’s a stroll through a pastoral patchwork and the promise of a pub lunch that draws you to Hampshire, it’s the variety that will tempt you to stay. Biscuit-tin villages and frolic-worthy fields are in no short supply, but beyond the bucolic, there’s an adventure for every taste – home of the HMS Victory, Portsmouth is a must for naval gazers; or keep your feet on dry land (/on the pedal/in the stirrup) in the New Forest. Ready for romance? Daydream of Darcy at Jane Austen’s final home or lord it up at the real-life Downton Abbey.

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Areas in Hampshire

When to go

Hampshire is handsome year-round, but rural walks and roof-down drives are particularly pleasant in the summer. Avoid Bank Holiday weekends to dodge the crowds (and country-lane queues).

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Getting there

  • Planes

    London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports are both within a two-hour drive of the county, but the domestic airports in Bournemouth and Southampton are better placed if you’re hitting the coast or the New Forest.

  • Boats

    Make the most of Portsmouth’s maritime credentials and arrive by sea: hop on one of the regular car ferries from the Isle of Wight, cross the Channel from Caen in Normandy or the Channel Islands, or set sail from Bilbao or Santander.

  • Trains

    Southern and South Western Railway lines link Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester with London Waterloo, and CrossCountry Rail run services from Southampton to Manchester and Newcastle. Short distances from town to town mean touring Hampshire by train is an easy and eco-friendly option.

  • Automobiles

    The M3 snakes from south-west London to Southampton via Basingstoke and Winchester. Once you arrive, Hampshire’s tree-lined lanes and forest roads make for rural-road-trip perfection.