From rural countryside to artisan food and the local brands making waves, Walnut Unlimited’s Associate Director Emily Pitman explores the beautiful, quaint town of Winchester.
Deservedly recognised as the UK’s best place to live in a survey by Halifax in 2016 and often included on The Times’ Best Places to Live list, there really is no better place to be than Winchester.
Winchester provides the perfect mix of rural countryside, history, artisan food and wine, and architecture. There’s something to suit every type of person, whether it’s a trip to the cathedral, a meal at a Michelin star restaurant, a walk in a national park or a pint at one of England’s oldest pubs.
The best thing is we’re only an hour from London, so it’s perfect for those who need to commute to/from the city.
Walnut Unlimited is part of the Unlimited Group with offices in Bristol, Reading and London, as well approximately 80 people here in Winchester. We’re lucky enough to experience the best of both worlds; we live in a beautiful, quaint town, but we’re also exposed to the work of major global businesses through our London team.
We recently undertook a piece of work for Slimming World which I’m particularly proud of. Slimming World wanted to explore language and how it’s used when we talk about ourselves, particularly the language surrounding body image and fitness. Walnut Unlimited worked with nutritional experts and behavioural psychologists from Slimming World to devise a study that measured how critical and negative language can damage our self-esteem. Slimming World released their report, MIND Your Language in January 2020, supported by us at Walnut Unlimited, behavioural psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos and Slimming World’s Head of Nutrition Dr Jacquie Lavin.
There’s so much history to immerse yourself in here. Make sure you visit the Cathedral, the Round Table in the Great Hall and Jane Austen’s House Museum. The great thing about Winchester is that the countryside is never further than 10 minutes away, including South Downs National Park, so there are lots of walks and viewpoints to explore. The ‘Gin Train’ on the Watercress Line is a must-do for cocktails on an old-style steam train through Hampshire, and a visit to The Royal Oak pub is always fun; it claims to be one of the oldest pubs in England!
Winchester Distillery recently revamped their Twisted Nose gin to elevate it from being a local favourite to a major UK and international brand. The company revealed a beautiful new bottle for the gin that is designed to ripple and refract like the surface of a stream, reflective of the area it’s distilled in. It’s also eco-friendly, made with 20% more glass and 95% less plastic. It’s fantastic to see a local brand doing big things!
We’re lucky to have quite a few eateries that are featured in the Michelin guide; Kyoto Kitchen, Chesil Rectory, Black Rat (which has one Michelin star) and Pulpo Negro are all incredible. For a more casual dining experience, Tom’s Deli, a tiny Italian restaurant, is fantastic. Tom himself comes around and tops up your wine! Piecaramba is an epic pie, mash and comic shop. For vegetarian and vegan options, Open House Deli and Raw are great. Finally, for the caffeine lovers, Coffee Lab do great coffee and fuel many of us in the office daily, plus they have a coffee and chocolate school!
Another local company making waves is Jude’s Ice Cream. The business had humble beginnings in a cow shed in Hampshire, where Theo Mezger began producing artisan ice cream as a hobby. Soon after Jude’s Ice Cream was born, Jude being Theo’s wife, and now the family all run the business together. The company is the epitome of a local success story, with the product now stocked in bars, restaurants and major supermarkets throughout the UK.
Emily Pitman is an Associate Director in the FMCG team at Walnut Unlimited. Emily works with FMCG brands to test new product ranges, optimise FMCG packaging and generally understand customer behaviour in the food and drinks category. With a background in sociology and politics, Emily has always been fascinated by human behaviour, whether at a societal or individual level. Native to Winchester, she is an expert in all things local to this great town.
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