Take part in a 900-year-old tradition

Winchester, Hampshire

Walk along Winchester’s water meadows to a beautiful medieval almshouse and you are following in the footsteps of weary travellers through the ages.

When you request the Wayfarer’s Dole upon arrival at the porter’s lodge you will be duly served a morsel of bread and a beaker of ale in a well-respected 900-year-old tradition. The walk to the hospital and almshouse was immortalised by the poet John Keats in his Ode To Autumn. You can do the walk in any season, however.

Trace the route using a free downloadable guide called ‘Keats Walk’. And when you arrive at the almshouse you can admire the Norman church set in beautiful gardens and even buy a bottle of souvenir ale to take home with you.

Content provided by Visit Winchester

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