Hampshire villages are extremely diverse – from the wooded hamlets of the New Forest, to the old fisherman villages on the south coast – and as pretty as those in its neighbour, Dorset.
Here, then, is our pick of the best of these Hampshire villages:
The Prettiest Hampshire Villages:
Wherwell
By Andreasegde
Wherwell is a village on the River Test. The name may derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.
Buriton
By grumpylumixuser, CC BY 3.0, Link
Buriton is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district, 2 miles (3.3 km) south of Petersfield.
It lies at the foot of the South Downs escarpment, just east of the A3 road. One kilometre to the south rises the tree-covered hill of Head Down (205 m), one of the highest points of the South Downs and flanked on either side by two other high points, War Down (244 m) and Oakham Hill (202 m).
Chalton
By BenShade at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Chalton is a small village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England.
It is in the civil parish of Clanfield. It is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north-east of Horndean, just east of the A3 road. The nearest railway station is 3.1 miles (5 km) south of the village, at Rowlands Castle.
Longparish
By Chris Talbot, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Longparish is situated on the northwest bank of the River Test.
St Mary Bourne
By Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
St Mary Bourne is small village and civil parish in northwest Hampshire . It lies in the valley of the Bourne Rivulet, a tributary of the River Test 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the town of Andover.
Burley
By Peter Facey, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Burley is located towards the western edge of the New Forest, 5 miles (8.0 km) south-east of the town of Ringwood.
Droxford
By Margaret Sutton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
The village is clustered with slight ribbon development along its main, north-south, undulating road. It is entirely on the lower half of the western slopes of the Meon valley.
East Meon
By Oxenhillshaw
East Meon is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district, 4.4 miles (7.1 km) west of Petersfield.
Hamble-Le-Rice
By Brendan and Ruth McCartney, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Hamble-le-Rice is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh.
Hartley Wintney
By Michael FORD, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Hartley Wintney is a village about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Fleet and 8 miles (13 km) east of Basingstoke. Hartley Wintney is in the Hart district of North-East Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Dipley, Elvetham, Hartfordbridge, Phoenix Green and West Green.
Odiham
By Andrew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Odiham is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district.
Wickham
By Basher Eyre, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Wickham is a small village about three miles north of Fareham.
Beaulieu
By Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.
Greywell
By Diane Sambrook, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Greywell village is a past winner of the Best Kept Village in Hampshire competition and a recent winner of Best Small Village in Hampshire.
The Basingstoke Canal runs underneath part of the village through the 1.1 km long Greywell Tunnel which is now no longer navigable due to a collapse which occurred in 1932.
Houghton
By Peter Facey, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Houghton is a small village and civil parish in the Test Valley district. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 1.8 miles (3 km) to the north-east.
Ropley
By M Walden, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Ropley is a village and large civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England.
It has an acreage of 4,684 acres (1,896 ha), situated 4 miles (6.4 km) east from New Alresford, with Ropley Dean served by a station just over 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village shops.
It is 6.7 miles (10.8 km) southwest of Alton, just off the A31 road. It lies within the diocese of Winchester.
Long Sutton
Long Sutton is a small village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. The village lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the town of Odiham.
Neighbouring villages include Well, South Warnborough and Upton Grey.
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some 13 miles (21 km) to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, 15 miles (24 km) South West.
Minstead
By Michael FORD, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Minstead is a small village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Lyndhurst. There is a shop and a pub, the Trusty Servant. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s grave is under a large tree at the back of the 13th century All Saints’ church.
Buckler’s Hard
Buckler’s Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.
With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Buckler’s Hard is part of the 9,000 acres (36 km2) Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is located some 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) south of the village of Beaulieu.
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