Petersfield Tourist Guide South Downs Walks Hampshire

Petersfield Tourist Information

Petersfield is an historic market town in the heart of the East Hampshire countryside. It lies on the north western side of the South Downs and within the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Petersfield is also on the main railway line between Portsmouth and London Waterloo making it easy to explore the rest of Hampshire by train.

Petersfield is a main shopping centre for the area centred around two squares, The Square and The Spain. The shops are a mix of high street chain stores and local independent shops. Set around the square is a good choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants and surrounded by the mix of historic buildings.

The Square has a statue of King William III and is where the twice weekly markets on Saturdays and Wednesdays. There is also a Farmers' Market on the first Sunday of every month.

Petersfield holds a variety of themed markets and festivities throughout the year. Over August Bank Holiday weekend the Petersfield Festivities bring a host of ad hoc performances from local organisations to The Square with a street market and children's activities. During the evenings live music and an outdoor bar provide the entertainment. At Christmas The Square is transformed into a skating rink and there's a Christmas market, performance stage, street performers, amusement rides, children's activities, outdoor christmas cafe and Christmas garden market. The regular Saturday Market and the final Sunday Hampshire Farmers' Market bring the celebrations to an end just before Christmas. The Festival is taking place on and around The Square, the High Street, Chapel and Lavant streets.

• Petersfield Hotels
• Petersfield Accommodation
• Bed and Breakfast Petersfield

Petersfield Food Festival

A major event in Petersfield's event calendar is the annual Petersfield Local Food Festival. It takes place over a weekend in the summer and celebrates all that is good about local food and its producers.

Around 100 stalls provide a huge choice of local produce, there are live demonstrations from local chefs as well as live music. Many of the restaurants in the town take part in the Restaurant Trail where you can sample seasonal offerings and special offers during the Food Festival.

It's a growing event and has attracted around 10,000 visitors. Check the Petersfield Events link right for up-to-date information.

• Hotels Petersfield
• B&B Petersfield
• Pubs Petersfield

Petersfield Music Festival

The Petersfield Music Festival has been going for over 107 years. It is held in Petersfield's Festival Hall over eight days in March.

The Festival is centred around two choral concerts in which choirs from the area combine to perform classic works from the choral repertoire. The Petersfield Orchestra provides the music while every Friday celebrity performers are the start attraction. There are also Youth Concerts that involve local school choirs.

You can buy tickets to the Festival from the One Tree Bookshop, 7 Lavant St, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3EL Tel: 01730 261199. Alternatively they are also available on the evening of performances from the Box Office at the Festival Hall between 6.45-7.30 pm.

Check the link right for up-to-date information and more detail of performances nearer the time.

• Hotels in Petersfield
• Accommodation in Petersfield
• Petersfield Bed and Breakfast

South Downs - East Hampshire AONB

The South Downs stretch across East Hampshire and West Sussex and include some fantastic countryside - rolling chalk downs punctuated with rich woodlands. The downs in East Hampshire are part of the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This is a particularly well wooded part of the South Downs with the woodlands on steep chalk slopes, called hanger woodlands. It is one of the most important areas in Britain for its range of broadleaved woodlands. These woodlands are particularly rich and varied in species and include rarities such as several species of helleborine and bird's nest orchid.

Wealden Edge Hangers Local Nature Reserve and the Ashford Hangers National Nature Reserve are accessible for visitors. Ashford Hangers NNR which lies 4.5 kilometres north of Petersfield and is accessible through footpaths.

Walking and cycling is the best way to explore the East Hampshire countryside. There's a handy leaflet detailing a 22 mile cycle route through the East Hampshire AONB available from the Hampshire Council website, link right. It starts in Petersfield and takes you round the majority of the East Hampshire countryside including Butser Hill, one of the highest points in Hampshire, from which you can get some fantastic views of the surrounding woodlands and countryside and even to the coast at Portsmouth.

Butser Hill is also a National Nature Reserve important for its large area of chalk grassland, heath and woodland. Over thirty species of butterfly have been identified from here including the Duke of Burgundy fritillary and the chalkhill blue. Not far near Charlton is Butser Ancient Farm which was set up in the 1970s as an archaeological research project into Iron Age farming techniques. The farm is open to visitors Easter-September Mon-Fri 10am-5pm.

• Hotel Petersfield
• Petersfield B&B
• Bed and Breakfast in Petersfield

South Downs Way National Trail

For really getting away from it all you can pick up the long distance route, the South Downs Way, south of Petersfield. The route actually starts in Eastbourne in Sussex and ends in Winchester in Hampshire (or you can do it the other way around).

The trail runs for 160 miles along old drovers roads over the chalk downs and is open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

Along the way you can get a close-up view of the flower rich chalk downland grassland which include specialist species such as Squinancywort, autumn ladies tresses and bastard toadflax. If you plan your visit to from late Spring to August you'll also see many of the butterflies that find the downlands excellent habitat.

Check the South Downs Way link right for maps and more information to help you plan your route.

• Petersfield Hotel
• B&B in Petersfield
• Pubs in Petersfield