Southampton Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Southampton [1] is a port city on England's South coast.
Contents |
Understand
Southampton has been a settlement since Roman and Saxon times, in Roman times the town was known as Clausentum. The Roman Ruins are situated in a suburb called Bitterne Manor. In Saxon times the town was known as Hamwic. Its privileged position on England's south coast made it Britain's premier trading post. The town became walled in the medieval era, and some remnants of these defences remain throughout the city, most notably the Bargate in the middle of the city centre. Southampton was devastated by bombing during the Second World War, meaning that much of the city and its heritage was destroyed. As such the town and its architecture has quite a modern feel to it.
Southampton has grown rapidly in the past 30 years, becoming one of the twenty largest cities in England. The two Universities (Solent University and University of Southampton) mean that there is a large student population (in term time).
Get in
By plane
Southampton is serviced by Southampton International Airport, located a short distance outside the city in Eastleigh. It is a relatively small airport, and only flies to the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic.
The alternative is to use one of the London airports and travel on to Southampton by train, car or bus. The most convenient are:
- Heathrow Airport is about 60 miles drive from Southampton via the M4 (westbound), M25 (anti-clockwise) and the M3 (southbound). There is a RailAir coach service to Woking station, where mainline trains to Southampton can be boarded.
- Gatwick Airport is about 80 miles drive from Southampton via the M23 (northbound), M25 (clockwise) and M3 (southbound) motorways. There is an hourly through train service to Southampton from a rail station in the airport terminal complex, taking just under two hours.
By train
South West Trains run regular (at least one an hour) services to Southampton from London Waterloo via Winchester and Basingstoke as well as from Portsmouth and further east along the south coast. Many of these trains continue beyond Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth via the New Forest.
Southern Trains run services via a longer and slower route from London Victoria, but have the advantage of serving London Gatwick airport on the way. Virgin Trains run longer distance services from the north of England via Birmingham and Reading. Wessex Trains run services from Cardiff, Bristol and Swindon via Salisbury.
Megatrain is a new budget train company with services three times a day between London and Southampton. These services are operated by its sister company, South West Trains, and follow the same route. If booked some time in advance, tickets can be as cheap as £1 each way, but they are more restricted than the regular tickets, and can only be purchased online via its own website or by phone.
Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.
By car
The M3 links Southampton with the M25 and London. The M27 leads west towards Bournemouth and the West Country, and east along the coast towards Brighton and the rest of the south of England.
Car parking is relatively easy with many pay and display places in the city centre. There are a number of free 2hr car parks too, and if you stray a little further away you can find free parking on the streets.
By bus
Megabus run a twice daily bus service from London Victoria Coach Station to Southampton from £3-£5 for the cost of a single ticket
National Express also run a regular coach service direct to Southampton from London Victoria Coach Station. Ticket prices are less than £20 for a scheduled return.
By boat
Southampton is a busy port city, and as such has numerous sea links to countries across the world.
Get around
By bus
See
- The Bargate - a medieval gatehouse sat slap bang in the middle of the shopping centre. The top floor is now a Heritage Visitor Centre
- The Central Parks - established in the 19th century and listed Grade II on English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks, they benefited in 2001 from a £4.5m Heritage Lottery grant
- The yearly Southampton Boat Show
Do
- Take a walk on Southampton Common - 326 acres of grass and woodland, including an Urban Wildlife Centre, paddling pool, play area and fishing lake. Very busy during summer months, and a popular afternoon hang out for students
- Walk the walls - follow the signposted original course of the historic town walls, gatehouses and towers, which are amongst the most complete in England. Around half of the original one mile circuit still survives, including the famous Bargate
- Watch a football match - Southampton FC play at the new St Marys Stadium. The derby matches with neighbouring Portsmouth have plenty of fire
- Take a ride on the Hythe Ferry from Town Quay to Hythe Pier, viewing the shipping in the docks
Learn
Southampton has two universities: the University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University.
Work
Buy
West Quay is a very large shopping complex with lots of major retail outlets inside.
Eat
There are two main areas for eating out in Southampton; the first is Oxford Street (towards Ocean Village) and the second is around Bedford Place (just North of the city).
Oxford Street has a selection of higher class (and therefore more expensive) restaurants. Recommended are the White Star (English/Traditional), Kutis (Indian), Poppadom Express (Indian) and Charlie Chans (Chinese); but pretty much if a restaurant can afford to be in Oxford Street it can afford a good chef so you can't go far wrong with picking one off the street at random.
The choice in Bedford Place is rather more varied; ranging from Morroccan and Mexican at the Southern end of the road through student style curry houses and a chinese to some late night kebab and chip shops. In terms of value for money the Pride Of India is one of best Indians in the city, but most of the restaurants are good value, if not exactly awe-inspiring taste-wise.
Walking distance from Bedford Place is the area of town that used to be known as Hungry Hill; Commercial Road where the existence of the Mayflower Theatre has meant a thriving trade for various restaurants in pre- and post-theatre eating. Again the choice is varied although generally the quality to cost ratio is not as high as it might otherwise be; although Buon Gusto (Italian) and Cafe Pattaya (Thai) are particularly recommended.
There are obviously the usual range of fast food chains spread throughout the city; but if you really want a choice Burger King is the opposite side of the Bargate from McDonalds, facing each other like petulant children with the gate itself acting like a peace-making mother.
Drink
As is to be expected of a large port with two universities, there are a lot of places to drink in Southampton.
Portswood is the drinking area of choice for students at the University, so keep away from places like The Hobbit, Clowns, The Gordon Arms and The Mitre if you want to avoid students.
The Polygon is a nice area near the city centre with some good new bars, including the Lizard Lounge.
The Marina area has a good (albeit expensive) selection of seafront bars.
There is a useful directory of the local pubs and bars at http://southampton-pubs.co.uk which includes maps to find the pub and a few featured pubs as well.
See also : http://www.wikipubs.org/index.php/Category:Southampton
Sleep
Novotel, Travelodge, Holiday Inn and Hotel Ibis all have hotels in Southampton.
Contact
Southampton Tourist Information Centre
Stay safe
There is a strong police presence in Southampton City Centre at night time. Especially around the clubs and pubs. Additionally there is a Night Bus Service that costs £2 for each time you travel and runs until 2-3am to allow people to get home safely.
It is advised not to wander in to Southampton Common at night time.
Cope
Samaritans
11 College Place
London Road
Southampton
Hampshire
SO15 2FE
Phone: 08457 90 90 90
No Limits is an Information, Advice and Counselling service for young people in Southampton aged 13-25.
No Limits City Centre
24a Bernard Street
Southampton
SO14 3AY
Phone: 023 8022 4224
Get out
- The New Forest
- Winchester, a nearby ancient cathedral city with lots to see.
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