Southampton

Introducing Southampton

This down-to-business port city and gateway to the Isle of Wight has a long and eventful past thanks to its position on the Solent, an 8-mile inlet into which flow the Itchen and Test rivers. However, Southampton’s history does not always make happy reading. While the city was once a flourishing medieval trading centre, its centre was gutted by merciless bombing in WWII and consequently there’s little left of its early heritage. The city’s gritty waterfront is also the point from which the Titanic set sail on its ill-fated voyage in 1912, and larger-than-life ocean liners such as the QEII still dock on the waterfront.

The tourist office (8083 3333; www.visit-southampton.co.uk; 9 Civic Centre Rd; 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, plus 10.30am-4pm Sun Apr-Sep) has details of free 90-minute guided walks – at 10.30am Sunday and bank holidays year-round, 10.30am daily July to September, plus 2.30pm daily August – which meet at the Bargate on High St.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009