Winchester ~ Mizmaze on the Hill

[spindrift]

When I posted the original Winchester thread I promised Bixa that I would walk up St. Catherine's Hill and take pictures of the Mizmaze. I went up there today.

In prehistoric times an Iron Age Celtic population had a settlement on St. Catherine's Hill, south of Winchester.
On the summit is a curious, square, medieval 'mizmaze' measuring 90ft by 86ft. A chapel dedicated to St. Catherine once stood nearby, but there is no trace of this now.

According to legend, the maze was cut into the turf by a Winchester College schoolboy, forced to stay at school during the summer holidays. The date of the mizmaze is unknown but it is probably medieval in origin. The schoolboy legend is almost certainly mere fiction.

The hill has been a recreation area for centuries of Win Coll and Pilgrims' School boys.

From the hilltop there is a good view of the busy M3 motorway. On the right you can see where earthmovers are gouging out a new Park and Ride.

The watermeadows.

The distant cathedral.

St. Cross Abbey.

and the town.



I pass by a discarded hat and make-do toboggans abandoned since the snow.

And make my way home along the towpath.

[bazfaz]

Thanks for this.

Could you go to Itchen Abbas? Years ago I stayed in the pub there.

[Deleted]

Is the Mizmaze really a maze or just a line to follow in the turf? Thanks for including the motorway -- even in the most bucolic areas, they are always somewhere, so it's best to just admit it!

I love the shot of the dead tree.

[spindrift]

That dead tree looks how I feel.

There is a constant roar from the motorway. It pervades the entire city but is very loud from the top of the hill. Returning Wykehamists tell me that in their day the city was almost silent. The flight path of aircraft landing at Southampton airport is directly over the cathedral ~ near my house.

Oh yes....the mizmaze is not the usual maze - you just follow the path of this one. No-one knows much (or anything) about it.

Baz - Itchen Abbas is twenty minutes drive from Winchester.The pub is called The Old Trout......

[bixaorellana]

All of this is so interesting, Spindrift. Thank you so much for remembering & for this great report. Do you know why it's called a mizmaze -- old term? Also, I've always been fascinated by these giant figures cut into the landscape around England, and have always wondered why they don't get covered up by time, erosion, blowing dirt, etc. Any idea?

The pictures are wonderful. I loved seeing the water meadows from up high. Please, what is a "Ride" in the sense you use it above?

[imec]

Terrific spindrift - thanks!

[bazfaz]

The Old Trout had 4 rooms above the pub. We stayed there one weekend. It had a small dining room with not bad food. But my my memory of eating there is that none of the other diners spoke to each other. Everybody seemed scared of being overheard. A bizarrely silent meal.

[spindrift]

Bixa - Park and Ride is a term designated to an area outside of a town that's solely used for drivers to park their cars all day and use a bus to enter the city. There are few facilities for parking cars in towns most space being reserved for residents. There is a large fee payable for Park and Ride as there is for any resident parking.

I don't know anything more about 'mizmaze'....perhaps I can ask for information in the museum.

there is already a huge Park and Ride on the other side of the city. Planning permission was obtained to build it over the ancient water meadows . Protests were of no avail.

[bixaorellana]

Oh no! I know that Prince Charles gets made fun of for his preservation efforts, but putting parking over the water meadows is obscene. Is Prince Charles's foundation ever of any practical help for groups trying to stop such outrages?

[lola]

Thanks, Spindrift. It resembles a maze at a convent near here. I've walked mazes a couple of times, like the one at Chartres, but don't feel any more spiritual by the end. Tempted to take shortcut.

[auntieannie]

really nice pics, Spindrift. Is it easy for you to reach this area? can you walk all the way or do you have to drive for a few minutes?

I really need to try and post the very few we took of our stay in Switzerland over the holidays.

[spindrift]

Bixa - regarding Prince Charles - I don't think so. Pretty sure not. I have a story to tell, one day, about how his Princes' Trust employed my exhubby to build Poundbury and then let him down. Huh!

Annie - it's easier to drive a few mins there but it's difficult to find residents parking when I return!