Review: Winchester Science Centre, Hampshire.
by Hampshire Photographer, Evie Winter
One of the hardest aspects of moving has been the learning of the new places and new routes.
As both Andrew and I grew up and have lived in London most of our adult lives, so we were familiar with what was on, how to get there and how long it would take. These little things we take for granted.
Now here we are in Winchester with barely a clue of what we can do without a car. I’d love to visit Marwell Zoo, and checked out the route on their webpage. They love buses so much they will give you a 10% discount if you take a bus, but several paragraphs later explain they don’t recommend it “* WARNING We’re quite a trek from the bus stop - 20 minutes at a push. The road is unpaved with a 50 mile an hour limit and busy with traffic so we wouldn’t recommend this route.” Thanks Marwell Zoo. Well that rules the bus out then!
So now I am slightly concerned I might rock up on a bus somewhere to discover I have brought my children and a double buggy to the middle of nowhere and the next bus is due next week.
Review: Visiting Winchester Science Centre with Kids
Swiftly moving on, this morning we braved a trip to the Winchester Science Centre and discovered to our delight it is very accessible. We hopped on a No.64 outside Guildhall and left on time, the driver told us where to get off about 10 mins later. My main problem with Winchester Science Museum is the fact that it isn’t in Winchester, but since the bus was okay today - I might forgive them that.
Winchester Science Centre was pretty expensive - £10 for me, Andrew and Dessi (no discount for 3 and over), we liked our visit enough to get an annual pass though (and get back the money from our first visit). I think that kind of price can be prohibitive for some people which is a shame.
There is lots to look at in the Winchester Science Centre and keep even 2 year olds entertained. You could create a tornado or draw your face on a mirror, walk through the digestive system or row a boat amongst other things. They had little stalls for little legs to stand on, they also had some creative activities as well as a soft play area. The loos were clean and there was a baby changing area, their were plenty of comfy chairs about should you need to sit down and feed your baby. If you can afford it, I’d say it would be well worth the annual pass to have freedom to visit on a regular basis, especially for home educators
There is also an on site cafe, (we didn’t use so can’t comment), we actually used the available tables to give the girls packed lunch. There is a Planetarium, which looks like it will be pretty exciting when the girls are older. Also worth noting that we had two adults and two children, the space is quite wide so if you have a wanderer - I think you could have your work cut out.
To help walk off the Christmas Dinner and because we had a rare day of sunshine we decided to walk back to Winchester. Google maps says it is a 47 min walk. It may have taken us a little longer as I took photos and stopped to give girls snacks. Eventually they fell asleep and the walk was rather blissful though. The walk itself is lovely and mostly downhill, if you get bored their are bus stops along the route and it is worth noting - it is unlit - do it well before sunset! The scenery is beautiful with beautiful views over the Hampshire Countryside, and the city of Winchester and I’m looking forward to doing it again with my camera. The main disadvantage is no one else was doing the walk, I don’t think people in Hampshire walk to get places.
My next aim is to get the bus to New Alresford which is apparently rather lovely (and would in fact be the same bus as for the Winchester Science Museum so I’m familiar with part of the journey.
Sadly for the safety of our children, I think Marwell Zoo will have to wait until we have access to a car, however much the discount is for using a bus.
Photos unedited and all taken by me, Evie Winter - on my phone, don’t steal. Come to Winchester, Hampshire and get your own photos.