December 4th today and I feel I can now safely start talking about Christmas!
With the Winchester Christmas Market in full swing – below, a photo of the Nativity stall in the market – and trees and decorations up across Winchester and Southampton, I’m really in the Christmas spirit and looking forward to leading city Christmas walks.
And I did the first yesterday with a fully-booked visit to Winchester’s Abbey House – the official home of Winchester’s Mayor – with a tour around the beautiful building before enjoying mince pies and mulled wine, hosted by the Mayor, Councillor Sudhakar Achwal, and Mayoress.
On Tuesday 9 December 2025 I will be sprinkling the history and stories of the
2-3.30pm Winchester Lower City walk with some seasonal snippets – and in Southampton all this month we are leading a Saturday and Sunday afternoon Christmas Walk, 1.30-3pm.
On Saturday 13 December 2025, while we explore the old city, the city wall and medieval vaults, and hear about the history of Southampton from the Romans up to the present day, I’ll be telling some of the city’s Christmas stories.
Famous Southampton resident novelist Jane Austen wrote in 1807 on the departure of their Christmas guests, “I shall be left to the comfortable disposal of my time, to ease of mind from the torments of rice puddings and apple dumplings, and probably to regret that I did not take more pains to please them all.”
And who would have thought that two Christmas number ones were the inspiration of two born-and-bred Sotonians – or that in 1879 Southampton found room for 91 Russian refugees, if not exactly in an Inn, in a prison – but bear with me, it was the Governor’s quarters, and it’s a much more lovely story than it sounds.
You can book online for my Winchester Lower City Walk on Tuesday 9 December, or book in-person at the Winchester Visitor Information Centre.
Tickets for my Saturday 13 December Southampton Christmas Walk are available online through See Southampton, or you can pay on the day if spaces are available, either cash or card.
I hope to see you in either Winchester or Southampton! Or for both tours!
Caroline Wigley 