Winchester, Hampshire, once England’s capital, is a charming small city to the south-west of London
Some consider that Winchester is actually the “home of English” because it was King Alfred, whose base was Winchester, who promoted English language, rather than Latin, for the purpose of general education:
There were few "books of wisdom" written in English. Alfred sought to remedy this through an ambitious court-centred programme of translating into English the books he deemed "most necessary for all men to know". (Wikipedia)
Famous for its Cathedral, Winchester has many other historic buildings as well as great pubs, cafés, shops and lovely parks and gardens. The surrounding countryside is beautiful.
Winchester is easy to reach from the main London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton) as well as regional airports (Southampton, Bristol, Bournemouth)
If you prefer not to fly, then travel by rail (Eurostar) or ferry (Portsmouth is nearby) is also possible.
Winchester is just one hour by train from London.
You can opt to book our host accommodation or book your own B&B, airBnB, hotel…
We strongly recommend host accommodation because
a) it’s good value compared to other options and
b) you get to chat to your host, further enhancing your language skills
