With so many places of historical interest to see in Winchester, it would be easy to miss this gem, especially as it’s a little way out of the city centre – and the name Hospital of St. Cross wouldn’t encourage too many people to find their way here either, but don’t go looking for the bus stop that will take you to the local A&E because the name is used in the medieval context of ‘hospitality’. You can get a bus to The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty if you wish, but a nicer way, if time permits, is to take the mile long footpath alongside the River Itchen known as Keats Walk.

John Keats lived in Winchester during the summer and autumn of 1819, and his daily walk through the water meadows to St Cross inspired the romantic poet to write the ode To Autumn, where he describes my favourite month in a way that only he could. If you want to follow the same path (and I don’t mean as a poet) then you can take the Weirs Walk alongside the river from the City Mill to Wolvesey Palace, and then follow the signs from there up College Walk to St Cross, and you can always catch the bus back into town if time’s running short.

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Originally posted 2024-02-22 09:24:53.