Celebrate Easter in Winchester

There are so many great things to do in Winchester this Easter, whether you're after Easter egg trails, craft workshops, child-friendly theatre or family day out ideas for the school Easter holidays (Saturday 28 March - Sunday 12 April).

Looking for ways to fill the long Easter weekend (Friday 3 - Monday 6 April 2026)? Find characterful pubs, brunch spots and places for alfresco eating to make the most of the double bank holiday. You could also read our guide to where to see spring flowers around Winchester or connect to nature in a new way at one of Winchester's wild saunas.

Take a look at Winchester Cathedral's website to see what's on during Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

Read: Easter in Winchester
Read: 26 egg-citing things to do during the school Easter holidays 

Enter a latte art competition

Can you make milk into art? Enter Blue Hour Coffee's Latte Art Throwdown at Hampshire Pantry this month. It's free to compete and you'll be judged on "symmetry, contrast, difficulty and wastage" in knockout rounds as well as a freestyle round to showcase your favourite pour. There will also be a bar and pizza van on site to keep spectators happy throughout the evening.

Latte Art Throwdown at Hampshire Pantry.
Thursday 2 April.
📍Winchester city

Solve a medieval escape game in a real medieval setting

Step back to 1445 in a thrilling race against time. The countdown is on and your help is needed to locate an important relic before the Bishop of Winchester arrives for dinner! This immersive escape game, created by ClueCapers, is set within the medieval buildings of The Hospital of St Cross, culminating in an escape room challenge in historic spaces not usually open to the public.

The Crusader's Collectible at The Hospital of St Cross. 
Monday 6, Tuesday 7, Thursday 9 and Friday 10 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Hang out with The Cat in the Hat 

With the trickiest of tricks, The Cat in the Hat turns a rainy afternoon into an amazing adventure. A lively theatre experience for children aged 3+ at Theatre Royal Winchester, this production of the beloved Dr Seuss tale features the most mischievous cat you'll ever meet.

The Cat in the Hat at Theatre Royal Winchester. 
Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Sample gelato at Swoon

This brand new addition to Winchester city centre has arrived just in time for sunny season. Swoon is a new gelato spot on Parchment Street, selling 12+ traditional and more unusual flavours. Think pistachio, hazelnut, dark chocolate sorbetto and Madagascan vanilla, plus seasonal specials like Hot Cross Bun gelato.

Swoon. Open now. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Watch a magical piece of puppet theatre

Imagine a whole world no bigger than a house. A planet that can be explored in a matter of minutes, yet it is the centre of a galaxy. Tiny Planet will keep families with kids aged 5+ mesmerised with breathtaking puppetry, original live folk songs and earthy percussion.

Tiny Planet at The Nutshell.
Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 April.  
📍Winchester city centre 

Hunt for Easter clues around Winchester city centre

Hop your way around Winchester City centre with the free Bunny Hop Easter Trail. The family-friendly trail invites explorers of all ages to hunt for nine hidden Easter-themed words displayed in local business windows across Winchester city centre. Pick up or download a trail sheet, follow the map through Winchester’s historic streets, and once completed, return it to a hub location to receive a treat and be entered into a prize draw to win an Easter-inspired hamper.

Bunny Hop Easter Trail in Winchester city centre. 
Until Sunday 12 April. 
📍Winchester city centre

Discover the hidden history of Winchester's fake jewels

Join author Alison Whitaker for a fascinating journey into Tudor Winchester’s hidden world of counterfeit gemstones. Telling the story of the fake jewels discovered on the former Shrine of St Swithun at Winchester Cathedral, this talk delves into the covert trade of counterfeit gemstones and its direct links to Winchester during the 16th century.

Faking Jewels: A Tudor Winchester Whodunnit at ADAM Architecture. Thursday 9 April.
📍Winchester city centre 

Sleep overnight at the Science Centre

Bring your own sleeping bag and pillow for an overnighter at Winchester Science Centre. Your ticket gets you evening access to the exhibition floors, a live science show, a guided tour of the Lunar Experience, a live Planetarium show and the chance to set up camp and snooze somewhere incredible. You also get breakfast the following morning to finish the adventure.

The Big Family Sleepover at Winchester Science Centre.  
Friday 10 - Saturday 11 April, 
📍Winchester city

Enjoy a thought-provoking evening at Abbey House

Listen to first-hand tales of life at the extremes of racing around the world on a boat before native French singer Muriele takes the microphone to perform wartime, jazz and retro songs from the 1930s onwards. The evening of entertainment is one of the Mayor of Winchester's charity events.

French Melodies and Ocean Crossing at Abbey House.
Friday 10 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Eat at The Wykeham Arms

A characterful pub with rooms in Winchester city centre's Kingsgate Village, The Wykeham Arms is both a cosy spot for a pint and a great place to eat. In fact, the pub's head chef is a newly-crowned MasterChef: The Professionals (2026) finalist. Book a table to see what all the fuss is about.

The Wykeham Arms. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Dance the afternoon away at a day-time disco

Discos for Grown ups is coming back to Winchester Guildhall's Bapsy Hall, but this time it's an afternoon party. Have a day of dancing to 70s disco and soul, 80s pop and 90s dance floor classics. Bonus: you can be in bed nice and early with no next-day hangover. (The bar will be open though!)

Day-time Disco for Grown-Ups at The Guildhall.  
Saturday 11 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Spend an evening in Laurel Canyon

Embrace your inner hippie for an evening celebrating the community of musicians that called Laurel Canyon their creative home during the 1960's and 70's. A live six-piece band will perform hits from the likes of Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Eagles and The Doors before performing Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue in its entirety.

Joni Mitchell's Blue: An Evening in Laurel Canyon at Theatre Royal Winchester. 
Saturday 11 April.  
📍Winchester city centre 

Experience a silent sauna session

Embrace hot and cold therapy with a difference. The Sauna Works, a wood-fired sauna sat on private forest garden near Winchester city, is hosting a silent sauna session, where usual chit-chat will be replaced by the sound of singing bowls instead. A soothing kind of self care.

Silent Sauna with Singing Bowls at The Sauna Works
Sunday 12 April 
📍 South Wonston, near Winchester 

Book onto supper club on a farm

Springy flavours are on the menu at The Yard's April supper club, from Lyme Bay scallops to lemon and lime leaf posset. The Yard's head chef Aaron Sinclair will be serving up four courses in the pretty surrounds of the farmyard café after hours.

Supper Club with Yard Chef Aaron Sinclair at The Yard. 
Friday 17 April 
📍Chilton Candover, near Alresford 

Drink your way around Wickham Beer Festival

Around 40 beers and 10 ciders, many of them brewed locally, will be on offer at April's Wickham Beer Festival. The event, which raises money for local and national charities, also has live music and food available. It kicks off on the Friday with a country and western-themed evening, with pints being pulled throughout Saturday afternoon and evening too.

Wickham Beer Festival at Wickham Community Centre. 
Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April. 
📍Wickham 

Celebrate words at Winchester Books Festival

Winchester Books Festival returns for a weekend of inspiration, imagination and lively discussion, with events focussing on fiction and non-fiction as well as children’s stories. 2026's authors include Lynda La Plante, Tony Robinson, Kathy Lette, Dame Harriet Walter, Mary Portas, Rob Biddulph and more, with opportunities to listen as authors discuss their work or flex your own creative muscle at a workshop. There are also walking tours celebrating Jane Austen's Winchester and bookshop crawls to join.

Winchester Books Festival 2026 at various locations. 
Friday 17 - Sunday 19 April.  
📍Winchester city centre  

Listen to the Star Wars soundtrack in Winchester Cathedral

The Fulltone Orchestra are launching Winchester Cathedral into an unforgettable musical universe with a performance of Holst’s The Planets and The Star Wars Suite this month. The full symphony orchestra are set to fill the ancient space with sound for one evening only. Expect cosmic soundscapes, epic energy, and spine-tingling moments from start to finish.

Holst's The Planets featuring the Star Wars suite at Winchester Cathedral.
Saturday 18 April. 
📍Winchester city centre  

See one of Shakespeare's most whimsical plays

Enter a world where love is unpredictable, fairies rule the night, and chaos reigns supreme. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a spellbinding comedy that whisks audiences into an enchanted forest where mistaken identities, mischievous magic, and outrageous humour collide.

A Midsummer Nights Dream at Theatre Royal Winchester. 
Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 April. 
📍Winchester city centre  

Learn about the secrets and status of royal costumes

Get up close to costumes from queens of the past, as seen in TV and film. You'll see the stunning replica of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation dress worn by Claire Foy in Netflix’s The Crown, plus Jenna Coleman’s beautiful gown from ITV’s Victoria, Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth I and others from BBC’s Wolf Hall. Dr Alex Walker, specialist in costume for stage and screen, will do a talk on each, revealing its secrets and how royals of the past demonstrated wealth, status and power through their clothes.

Royal Power Dressing with Dr Alex Walker at The Great Hall. 
Saturday 25 April.
📍Winchester city centre  

Ride special heritage steam trains

Head to the Watercress Line for a ‘steam-packed’ three day event. It’s a chance to see and ride behind special guest engines as well as their home-fleet locomotives. Special guest engines include BR Standard 5 Class 73156, Furness Railway No. 20 and Austerity Tank Engine 68067. You can explore heritage stations along the 10 mile line and enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, as well as a limited number of brake van rides and steam crane experiences.

Spring Steam Gala at The Watercress Line. 
Friday 24 - Sunday 26 April. 
📍Alresford

Take a screen printing workshop

Already been to the Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: Patterns of Power exhibition at The Arc's Gallery? Time to turn that inspiration into your own masterpiece at a hands-on screen-printing workshop. Drawing on the key themes in Shonibare’s practice, participants will create their own screen-printed artworks on paper, inspired by the prints and sculptures seen in the exhibition. No previous experience is necessary!

Screen Printing Workshop based on Yinka Shonibare at The Arc. 
Saturday 25 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Watch an inspiring documentary about pollution and power

Book tickets to this empowering and inspiring film screening of Jo in the Water. The documentary follows passionate sea swimmer turned reluctant activist Jo Bateman, as she takes on one of the UK’s biggest water companies in a David-and-Goliath battle to protect our waters from devastating sewage pollution. A movement grows and a question is posed: who else will stand up for our right to swim in clean natural waters?

Jo in the Water screening at The Arc. 
Tuesday 28 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

See Helen Mirren in The Audience on screen

Returning to cinemas for the first time in over a decade, Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Olivier and Tony award-winning hit theatre production, directed by Stephen Daldry. The play which went on to inspire The Crown, follows Queen Elizabeth II's private weekly meetings with each of her 12 prime ministers.

National Theatre Live: The Audience at Theatre Royal Winchester. 
Tuesday 28 April. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Tour Winchester College's hidden gardens

Take a tour of historic Winchester College's vast hidden gardens, which are usually off-limits to members of the public. Led by the college gardening team, Garden Tours explore the biodiversity and horticultural history of the gardens. You'll explore spaces like the traditional College 'quad', the tranquil gardens of the College's war memorial and a private section of one of the most famous chalk streams in the world.

Winchester College Garden Tour at Winchester College. 
Thursday 30 April. 
📍Winchester city centre