Card and gift ideas
Mother’s Day can be celebrated simply with a pretty card and a gift like a candle or beauty product – and Winchester city centre has some delightful independent shops that can help you treat your mum. Including Cornflowers in Kingsgate Village, The Consortium on Jewry Street or browse the locally made items in the Visitor Information Centre on the ground floor of Winchester Guildhall, The Broadway – like Mrs B’s Bees local, raw honey. Women Who Changed The World – tote bags, mugs, tea towels, locally made soaps by Hampshire Soap Co and Wax Melts by Hex Nex.
Flowers
Consider ordering a vintage style bouquet from Joannes Florist; a mix of fresh and dried flowers from HeartBee Flowers; or a contemporary arrangement from Pinx Florist. Visit Wildbunch Florists at Cobbs Farm Shop (just outside Winchester), or their flower shop in Alresford. Wickham Flowers does arrangements for all occasions; plus add a balloon, chocolates or a gift. Hylands in Bishop’s Waltham sells bouquets and plants.
Chocolates
If you’re buying for a chocoholic, the award-winning Winchester Cocoa Company sells uniquely flavoured selection boxes, slabs and novelty items; head to the Wickham chocolate shop, Confiserie Verdonk, for imported speciality chocolates from Belgium, over 100 flavours and no added sugar treats; and pick individual chocolates from the counter at Sweet Corner in Bishop’s Waltham.
Fizz
Fancy a bottle of bubbles, why not take a trip to the award-winning Hambledon Vineyard or Hattingley Valley Wines, near Alresford. Book a spot on a tour and learn how they produce their wines, sample them and buy a bottle at cellar door prices. If you’re thinking about cooking a meal for your mum, purchase a specialist Italian wine from Toscanaccio on Parchment Street, ‘wines of distinction’ from The Naked Grape in Alresford and rare wines from Just in Case in Bishop’s Waltham.
For more gift ideas across the district, click here.
Treat her to a pamper day
Spoil your loved one to memorable spa day at one of Winchester’s luxury spas – with hydro and thermal areas, relaxation spaces and countless treatments on offer. Let them put their feet up in the bubbly foot spa at Ana Spa at Holiday Inn, Winchester (five minutes from the city centre) or feel rejuvenated after a facial. Buy a gift voucher for your friend or family member to enjoy one of the many massage/skin softening/exfoliating/detox treatments available at The Spa at The Winchester Hotel, on Worthy Lane.
Alternatively, browse and buy a gift from a range of locally made pamper products available at the Visitor Information Centre on the ground floor of Winchester Guildhall, on The Broadway.
Anyone for afternoon tea?
Visit the NAAFI Cafe on St Georges Street to spoil someone special to a cup of tea and slice of cake or enjoy freshly made sandwiches and scones in Winchester Royal Hotel‘s award-winning Garden Restaurant and secret garden – visit the hotel on St Peter Street. If the weather is fine, find a quiet corner in the Cathedral Cafe – with cathedral views from the terrace and peaceful walled garden.
Further afield, Oakley Hall Hotel are offering a bubbly afternoon tea on 9 and 10 March for £65 per person which includes a flower arrangement for ‘mum’ to take home.
Take Mum out for Sunday lunch
Settle down for a delicious meal in the Wykeham Arms.
If you’re in New Alresford, visit The Swan
In Bishop’s Waltham, try The Crown Inn. This 16th century coaching inn offers a wide range of platters for two, roast dinners – including a roast sirloin to share – pub classics and puddings like apple and plum tarte tatin with coconut sorbet.
While in Wickham, enjoy starters from soup of the day to crispy Asian beef and mains including slow roasted lamb and pork loin with crackling at The Square Cow – once formally known as ‘The Old Curio Shop’ in the village square.
Other dishes, including vegetarian options, are available from these pubs.
Days and evenings out
For a fine day out, The Watercress Line in Alresford is back up and running from 9 March, after a short break following their festive Steam Illuminations. Enjoy a relaxing ride on a steam train through ten miles of beautiful countryside. Plus, why not book a table for a delicious cream tea?
Marwell Zoo offer animal experiences that give you the chance to get closer to their amazing animals than ever before. This could make the perfect gift for your mum as it’s a once in a lifetime experience! Entrance to the zoo is included with the price.
Or visit Chawton House’s Exhibition: Treasures of Chawton House displaying some of the most precious treasures in the collection, and drawing on both Knight and Austen family history and early women’s writing with never-before-displayed objects, new acquisitions, old favourites, and items unique to Chawton House.
If your mum enjoys the theatre, but you’re not sure which show to take her to see, why not gift her Theatre Royal Winchester vouchers? Over Mother’s Day weekend, Theatre Royal Winchester plays host to a screening of National Theatre Live’s Vanya (Sat 09 Mar) starring Fleabag star, Andrew Scott, who plays multiple characters in this one-man adaptation exploring hopes, dreams, regrets and the complexities of human emotions. Classification: 15. National Theatre Live: Vanya | Theatre Royal Winchester
Mums and grandmas are invited to spend Mother’s Day with the little ones at Theatre Royal Winchester where the show is Zog and the Flying Doctors (runs Fri 08 – Sun 10 Mar). An adaptation of a Julia Donaldson classic, Zog is the super keen student turned air-ambulance who, with his Flying Doctor friends, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with too many horns and a lion with the flu. Bound to please everyone, it features colourful characters and music. Zog and the Flying Doctors | Theatre Royal Winchester
Finally, enjoy a gin and tonic at Bombay Sapphire Distillery, in Whitchurch – with a Discover Experience or Gin Cocktail Masterclass. Learn about the botanicals in Bombay Sapphire and explore Laverstoke Mill – once home to the production of bank note paper, now a state-of-the-art sustainable distillery.
