Pick your own fruit and flowers

Is there anything more wholesome than a day spent at a Pick-Your-Own farm? You'll find strawberries taste sweeter when you've picked them yourself, while a vase of flowers is all the more pleasing when you've hand-selected each stem from a field of bobbing blooms. Luckily there are plenty of places to get your pick on in and around Winchester, whether you're after strawberries, apples and gooseberries or sunflowers, sweet peas and dahlias.

Read more: Winchester places for PYO flowers and fruit this summer
📍 various locations 

Eat bangers and mash on a vintage steam train

Ride the rails of The Watercress Line's heritage railway in a vintage steam train, all while eating a comforting plate of sausages, mash and onion gravy. You can watch the lush Hampshire countryside whizz by as you enjoy your meal. Your ticket allows you to ride the train all day, with the opportunity to hop on and off at the four heritage stations along the line.

Bangers & Mash Train at The Watercress Line. 
2, 16, 22 and 30 July. 
📍 Alresford 

Eat at a long communal table

There's not one but THREE gorgeous communal feasts taking place in Winchester this month. The Market Garden Dinner on Friday 3 July is a shared alfresco supper in Hampshire Pantry's market garden as part of The Garden Festival. On Saturday 4 July you can sit down to a celebrate Winchester's indie producers at A Table for Winchester, a communal meal in The Great Hall where fare is being provided by Louis Pommery, Kyoto Kitchen, Overdraft, Røst, Kingsgate Provisions and more. The following day 250 guests will sit at long tables running the length of The Square as the finale of the Taste of Winchester Festival, the Long Lazy Lunch. Ticketholders will enjoy a six-course menu, from Rick Stein, St James' Tavern, Bar Lento and others.

The Market Garden Dinner at Hampshire Pantry. Friday 3 July.
📍Winchester city 
A Table for Winchester at The Great Hall. Saturday 4 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 
Long Lazy Lunch at The Square. Sunday 5 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Drink your way around a festival of breweries

Head to Dummer Down Brewery for a day-long festival celebrating local breweries, from Flower Pots and Steam Town Brew Co to Silly Moo Cider and Elusive Brewing.  There will be live music throughout the day in the barn as well as a number of food trucks like Field and Furnance and Arty Stan pizza. There's also camping available if you want to make a weekend out of it.

Festival of Breweries at Dummer Down Farm. 
Saturday 4 July. 
📍near Basingstoke 

Practise your downward dog in the park

Bring a yoga mat (or a towel) and enjoy a free hour of alfresco yoga in one of Winchester's green spaces. Park Yoga is running in Winchester for 20 weeks from Sunday 3 May until the end of summer. There's no need to book, you just turn up and stretch it out in the great outdoors. A wholesome way to kick off a summery Sunday morning.

Park Yoga at Garrison Ground (near Winchester Leisure Centre). 
Every Sunday in July. 
📍Winchester city 

Tour Winchester's local vineyards - with a designated driver

Spend a relaxed day exploring Hampshire’s rolling countryside, visiting three outstanding vineyards and tasting award-winning English wines - all hosted by an expert guide. Grape & Grain Tours will be your designated driver, taking you to visit Raimes, Candover Brook and Black Chalk, where you’ll enjoy guided tours and tastings of sparkling and still wines. Your ticket includes a two-course lunch at The Tichborne Arms pub near Alresford.

Vineyards of Hampshire Tour, departing from Winchester Train Station. 
Saturday 4 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Read more: Dreamy vineyards to visit near Winchester

Watch the World Cup in Winchester

Looking for the perfect pub to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026? Winchester and the surrounding area has some fantastic spots to catch every strike, tackle and goal. Roar for the Three Lions from a lively city centre Fanzone, sit back in the sun at a relaxed country pub or get the proper local experience in one of our market town taverns. From Helch and Alfie's to The Tichborne Arms and The Flower Pots, there's a World Cup watching spot to suit your vibe.

Read more: Where to watch the World Cup in Winchester
📍various locations 

Watch the Wickham Duck Race

The Wickham Duck Race is one of the village’s most popular annual traditions and a brilliant day out for all ages. Organised by the 1st Wickham Scouts, it's a lively community event packed with fun, laughter and friendly competition. Hundreds of yellow rubber ducks will be released into the river at Wickham's Water Meadows and people are invited to sponsor a duck before the race.

Wickham Duck Race.
Sunday 5 July.
📍Wickham 

See world-class opera in amazing surrounds

Exceptional opera, dance, jazz and more, on an unparalleled English country estate, The Grange Festival returns for 2026 with a thrilling range of work and an extra week of performances. The festival will play host to three opera productions - Puccini’s La Bohème, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Handel’s Giulio Cesare - as well as concerts ranging from a stylish Sinatra celebration with full orchestra, to a genre-blending exploration The Soul of Opera.

The Grange Festival at The Grange at Northington.
Until Sunday 12 July. 
📍near Alresford

See The Gallery's Scottish Colourists art exhibition

The latest art exhibition to arrive at The Gallery at The Arc explores the creation of a new language of colour in European art. The four artists known as the Scottish Colourists: SJ Peploe, JD Fergusson, Leslie Hunter, and FCB Cadell, are acknowledged as one of the most talented, experimental, and distinctive groups in 20th-century British art. 100 years after their first exhibition in London, The Arc celebrates their monumental achievements.

The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives at The Arc Gallery. 
Until Wednesday 16 September. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Watch open-air Shakespeare in Winchester city centre

Chesil Theatre are putting on a production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing this month. A twist on the much-loved comedy, the tale has been re-imagined at the end of WWII when, beaking their journey on the way home from the front, a group of soldiers stop for a few days' rest, recreation and a little romance. The show will be put on in the open air, whatever the weather, in the playing fields adjacent to the ruins of Wolvesey Castle.

Chesil Theatre's Much Ado About Nothing near Wolvesey Castle. 
Tuesday 14 - Saturday 18 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Sample Winchester's sweetest scoops

Summer days call for sweet scoops of something cool. Whether you crave an ice cream cone, a tub of authentic Italian gelato, a 99 flake or something icier when the warm weather hits, there are plenty of places to get your fix in Winchester. From city spots selling locally-made Judes ice cream to gelaterias on nearby farms, here's a list of cool places to pick up takeaway ice creams and scoops of gelato in and around Winchester. Next up, find a shady picnic spot, park or garden before your sweet treat melts.

Read more: Winchester's coolest ice cream and gelato
📍various locations 

Eat your way around Foodies Festival

You'll find live music and entertainment, street food stalls, cookery demos, workshops and more at Foodies Festival, when it takes over River Park in the heart of Winchester city this month. The three-day festival, which will be headlined by Boyzlife, Gareth Gates and Symphonic Ibiza Orchestra, also features a silent disco, a wellness village and plenty to keep kids entertained.

Foodies Festival in River Park.
Friday 17 - Sunday 19 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Dress up like Jane Austen on the anniversary of her death

The annual Dress Up Day is a unique and special day in the Jane Austen's House calendar. Visitors are invited to dress up in Regency regalia to pose, picnic or promenade at Jane Austen’s House and our pretty cottage garden. If you don’t have a Regency dress of your own, they have lots available for you to try on, as well as free pop up talks and Regency Country Dance demonstrations and workshops throughout the day. This year Dress Up Day falls on the anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, making it a particularly special and poignant day to look back and celebrate her life, novels, characters and legacy.

Dress Up Day at Jane Austen's House.
Saturday 18 July. 
📍Chawton

Head off on a Winchester pub walk

Does anything go together more perfectly than a wholesome walk and a trip to the pub? If you don't fancy putting on your walking boots without knowing where you'll be drinking your post-hike pint, read on. There are so many amazing walking routes in and around Winchester. Click the link to discover five that take you past or conclude at characterful pubs, where you can order a refreshing pint of something local, eat a well-deserved Sunday roast or take a rest in a sunny pub garden. Some of these walks start in Winchester city centre, while others begin in lush South Downs countryside. They range from short city circulars to longer walks with multiple stops that could fill a whole day.

Read more: Brilliant pub walks in Winchester
📍various locations 

Explore a new play area inspired by chalk streams and ecosystems

Winchester Science Centre is unveiling an exciting new outdoor play space this month. Play Wild! is made up of three brand-new outdoor exhibits inspired by the remarkable chalk landscape that shapes Winchester's local environment. Little ones will be able to dig for fossils and climb across a giant mosasaur skeleton to uncover the secrets of the prehistoric chalk sea at Dino Dig, before wading into the wonders of The Chalk Stream, experimenting with water flow and discovering the creatures that depend on this rare and unique habitat. Then they'll climb, crawl and explore Dormouse Den, uncovering the hidden world of one of our most elusive woodland mammals and the delicate ecosystem it calls home.

Play Wild! at Winchester Science Centre. 
From Saturday 18 July. 
📍Winchester city

Laugh out loud at 'work in progress' comedy shows

No need to head up to Edinburgh this summer when the laughs are coming to Winchester. Spend Saturday laughing at Theatre Royal Winchester's Fringe Funnies. Over two shows, one matinee and one evening, you can experience  top-notch comedy from some top-notch comedians, before they head off to Edinburgh Fringe. See 'work in progress' performances from Tiff Stevenson, Bilal Zafar, Glenn Wool and Garrett Millerick.  

Fringe Funnies at Theatre Royal Winchester.
Saturday 18 July. 
📍Winchester city centre 

Mark the end of the school term at a soft play disco

Schools out and what better way for little ones to celebrate than with a disco at Thrive & Wild soft play. Kids can dance, snack, sing in the start of the school holidays. The theme of the disco is 'What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?' and fancy dressed is very much encouraged.

Soft Play Disco at Thrive & Wild. 
Thursday 23 July. 
📍Kings Worthy, near Winchester city 

Play a medieval escape game in a genuine medieval setting

Step back to 1445 in a thrilling race against time! You have just 60 minutes to uncover hidden treasure in an immersive escape game set within the stunning medieval buildings of The Hospital of St Cross. Your investigation will take you through rarely seen areas of this historic site, culminating in an escape room challenge deep within its ancient underbelly.

The Crusader's Collectible at The Hospital of St Cross.
Friday 24, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 July. 
📍Winchester city 

Sip a cocktail at The Arc

A trip to The Arc just got even better. Home to Winchester's library as well as two art gallery spaces, events, performances and more, The Arc has just introduced a new cocktail menu, so you can round off your visit with a sip of something colourful and summery. Even better if the sun is shining and you can enjoy your drink in the building's technicolour outdoor space.

Available now at The Arc. 
📍Winchester city centre

Head to a family-friendly festival

Book tickets to this four-day music and arts festival held in a beautiful rural location near the village of Wickham. You'll find live music on multiple stages as well as comedy, theatre, storytelling, yoga classes and more. Aiming to be one of the safest, most relaxed and family-friendly festivals in the UK, Wickham Festival is a chilled way to get that festival feeling. 2026 artists include The Proclaimers and The Saw Doctors

Wickham Festival 2026. 
Thursday 30 July - Sunday 2 August. 
📍Wickham