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Writer's picturethe15milefoodie

Yomp and Chomp around Southampton

A walking heritage and history tour with the added special bonus of eating and drinking your way around these great city. What a brilliant idea! Pass by historical places of interest and learn who has walked these paths before you, whilst enjoying an eclectic culinary experience.

Tina Cresswell and Glenda Sprake came up with the idea of a Yomp and Chomp after experiencing something similar in Spain.

I joined them on one of their first tours starting from the infamous Bargates that stands proudly in the city. The tour took approximately 4 hours and during that time we heard tales of pirates, the Mayflower, Jane Austin, the Titanic and how the Second World War affected the city and people of Southampton.

Reminders of historical moments in time are dotted all around the city, you just need to be with someone that knows where to find the best of them. Cue Tina and Glenda.

City of Southampton - Jane Austen plaque

I won't divulge all we saw, visited and tasted as you should discover this for yourself on your own tour. The following is simply a taster, we saw some of the oldest buildings in the city and traced some of the remaining city walls hearing how they have evolved during the passage of time.

So what about the 'Chomp', on my tour we visited six, fantastic hotels, pubs and foodie favourites all in historical settings. Again I won't spoil the tour by giving away everywhere we stopped, but we did stop at one of my favourite places to visit in Southampton which is the pig in the wall, (in fact I love the Pig group of hotels full stop) not only for its fab decor but for the simple quality of the food and drink they serve. So to my mind this was a great stop off during the tour, a glass of wine and a little longer here would have been nice too, but we had places to go and things to see.

The Pig in the wall

The pig in the wall cheese board was absolutely delicious, I.O.W Blue, Tunworth soft (from Hampshire) Stoney Cross Hard cheese, and Lyburn Cheese.

The Pig - Cheese Board

The Pig in the wall - Southampton

From here we passed through the gate where the Pilgrim Fathers boarded the Mayflower and the Speedwell before their journey across the Atlantic.

The picture below was from next destination so I'll leave you to find out its significance on your own journey through Southampton.

As this was one of the first tours I imagine the tours will be adapted to suit the different audiences they will attract, cruise goers could easily indulge in a little Southampton history before setting off on their travels, and locals will be surprised by what's been under their noses all this time, and for foodies learn about the city as you discover new culinary locations to visit. What's not to like!

These tours will appeal to a wide audience, and with the knowledge and story telling by Tina and Glenda never a dull moment, add on to that some quirky and interesting nourishment breaks, it was an interesting and enjoyable tour, I found, even as a previous resident of Southampton there was still lots to learn, and food places to discover.

To book on to a Yomp and Chomp tour view the website

www.yompandchomp.com or call 00 44 (0)7527 561831

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