New look for Guildhall as Council prepares for Christmas visitor surge
This year Guildhall Winchester and Abbey House will have a little more sparkle as the Council continues to invest in improvements to the festive welcome in the city.
Winchester BID have teamed up with Winchester City Council to improve the seasonal lights around the Guildhall and Abbey House areas, ensuring that the Christmas Light Switch On had the maximum impact on 17 November and that the coaches arriving in the Broadway get a more festive welcome.
Cllr Steve Miller, Winchester City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Estates and Economy, said:
We’ve been working behind the scenes to ensure that visitors and local shoppers have a more positive experience when arriving in England’s Christmas Capital. There is new signage for the bus station, and ‘Perfect Christmas’ branded traffic cones, 450 parking spaces freed up and a new parking availability counter to help people find a space. This final measure to liven up the appearance of the Guildhall is intended to build a more Christmassy atmosphere at a busy part of the town. We know that many local families will be descending upon the Guildhall to see Santa in his popular grotto for the second year and we want to make the approach to that experience, and the walk up to the High Street, as festive as possible.
Winchester Tourist Information Centre launched the Santa’s grotto last year and sold out – leading to extended opening times. The not-for-profit scheme was created due to frequent requests from local families for a grotto in Winchester.
Sarah Harfield, Winchester Tourist Information Centre Team Leader, said:
The Guildhall and its Tourist Information Centre are both heavily used by local people who attend the increasing number of live events, buy tickets and view exhibitions consulting the public on local developments. Wintonians come to us for transport information relating to travel all across the UK and with the impending closure of all other TICs in Hampshire we expect our local role to become even more pronounced. Christmas in Winchester is our busiest season for visitors and the presence of the Charity Christmas Card stalls drives additional local footfall into the centre. We’ve reacted to calls from local families to do something tailor-made for small children. For those looking for a special present for the grown-ups we are adding a new line of local sparkling wine, gin and beer!
This year the Victorian-style grotto will be opening on the four Saturdays before Christmas (26 November, 3, 10 and 17 December) between 10am and 4pm – due to high demand it is advisable to book tickets in advance. Tickets cost £6.50 per person and can be purchased from Winchester Tourist Information Centre, 01962 840 500. tourism@winchester.gov.uk