At 12:30 pm. I went back to the cathedral and had a look through. It wasn’t as colourful as Exeter Cathedral (largely due to the banners) but it was still impressive in its own right. One of the highlights for me were the medieval floor tiles still in place and still in use.

The other must-see in Winchester for me was the round-table of King Arthur. I knew it was in Winchester’s Great Hall but I had no idea where that was. So it was off to the tourist information office to get a map. That done it was off to see the Great Hall. I got side-tracked along the way by a street performer from Australia and Tina, his radio-controlled stunt car. I must have watched his show for half an hour or so. It was quite funny.

The Great Hall—the only remaining part of Winchester Castle that Oliver Cromwell left standing—was relatively devoid of people compared to the rest of Winchester. The round table was amazing—one ton and four hundred-weight of painted oak hanging on the wall. Actually it looked to be resting on a couple of wooden beams protruding from the wall, but I’m sure there must have been some other sort of attachment to prevent it toppling forward.

I went back and had a look through the local museum. It was very well done with the three floors telling the story of Winchester focusing on the Roman, Medieval, and Victorian periods respectively. Lots of interactive and tactile exhibits.

I patronised McDonald’s for a cold drink and discovered they offered free wireless internet—so I gave it a try. I think I managed to get an e-mail sent.

Old Wardour Castle was an impressive ruin set in a very picturesque and romantic setting. I arrived about 12:30 pm. and a lot of people were there enjoying a picnic lunch. There were lots of rooms and chambers to explore on several floors in the ruin. Both of the castles I visited today, as well as Corfe Castle yesterday, were slighted during the civil war.

After Salisbury I headed for Stockbridge and, missing the turnoff for the more direct route to Winchester, I carried on towards Romsey. About halfway there, as I still had some time available before my expected arrival at Hatch End, I visited the house and gardens of Mottisfont Abbey. The house was originally an abbey priory that was converted into a Tudor house which itself was subsequently converted into a Georgian house. Some of the rooms had holes cut into the walls to show the underlying detail of the original priory architecture that had been hidden by the alterations. All in all a very interesting house in a beautiful setting. The weather was certainly playing its part to show it off at its best.

After Mottisfont I passed through Romsey (filling up with petrol) and on to Winchester which I tried to skirt around in an effort to get to Itchen Abbas. I managed to get myself in the wrong lane (but luckily managing to avoid the motorways) and found myself going in the wrong direction. Getting myself heading back in the right direction meant I approached Itchen Abbas from the wrong direction as far as the sign for Hatch End was concerned and it took a few nervous moments to locate my bed for the night.