Andover 

Andover is land for those inclined toward a relaxed, low-key experience and a quest for lovely scenery. Cutting through the south, you will find the beautiful Test Valley, which is wildly popular amongst walkers and cyclists for its cooler climate and many attractive villages.

Andover formed, as a Saxon development from frequent crossing of the River Anton and by the middle Ages was Hampshire’s third largest town, after Winchester and Southampton. It received its first charter in 1175 and prospered as a market town. Its real boom time however was in the days of the stagecoach, as Andover was an important staging post on the busy London- Exeter route.

• Much of the town’s elegant architecture dates from this period. The Andover Museum covers all aspects of local life, geology and natural history and features archaeological relics from the Stone Age onwards.