Shopping

Hampshire is home to many attractive market towns which are full of quirky, independent shops that are a long way from your average 'high street stores'.. The genteel Georgian town of Alresford is a tucked-away shopping gem near to Winchester. It's colour-washed houses and specialist shops sell china, art, crafts, antiquarian books and a great coffee and food shop and more make it the perfect place for whiling away an afternoon. The unassuming little town of Stockbridge, on the River Test, has a surprising array of unusual stores, including a Persian rug shop, classy home and garden store and numerous galleries and crafts shops. Situated on the coast between Bournemouth and Southampton is the Georgian town of Lymington, where cobbled streets are home to a diverse mix of gift, clothes and food boutiques along with a cosmopolitan marina.