Swans taking off from the picturesque river Itchen at Shawford, near Winchester, which we saw when hiking a part of the route now designated as the Monarch's Way; it roughly follows the route of Charles II's flight after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
The local farmers are currently custodians of fields of flint stones and are clearly hostile to hikers; we assumed they did not support the recent creation of the South Downs National Park. Numerous applications for diversions of footpaths and broken way-markers gave weight to this impression.
Back in Winchester, the arched corridors of ancient stones around the cathedral give an impression of eternity whilst "The Old Gaolhouse" was the venue for a scooterist rally, maybe not what one expects to find in Winchester.