Tag Archives: Chococo

Win Guide to Easter

king_alfred_perfectEaster greetings, “practically perfect” Wintonians.  Our secret is out, Winchester has been recognised by the Sunday Times as the number one place to live in Britain.  We are an “historic, cultured, foodie city”, with a strong sense of community, great restaurants and schools. With this extra spring in our step, here’s our Winchester guide to what’s on this Easter.

Chococo Chococo milk chocolate C181 robot eggLooking to buy THE egg?  Chococo’s C181 Chocholate Robot Egg has been featured in the BBC Good Food 2016 great taste test. Alternatively, the Milk chocolate Heavenly Honeycombe Easter Egg has been featured in Hello Magazine’s ‘Ultimate Easter Egg & chocolates gift guide’. And just to make the dilemma a little more perplexing, the Studded milk chocolate Butterfly Egg has been featured in Great British Chefs – ‘The best chocolate Easter eggs for 2016‘ and the Woman & Home’s Easter Collection 2016. 

Easter BrioThe Easter bunny hop returns over the Easter weekend.  Pick up a trail sheet from the Tourist Information Centre or from Chococo and search the city for egg-shaped clues in order to crack the bunny hop clue. Participating locations include Chococo, The Entertainer, Childhood’s Dream, Winchester Discovery Centre, The Old Fashioned Sweetie Shop and Creative Crafts.  Aside from the trail there will be Montezuma’s goody bags (while stocks last) and a Brio Play Event in The Brooks shopping centre offering children the chance to play with wooden railways 31st March – 2nd April. Watch out too for some singing Eggs on Legs and Egg Decoration on Saturday 26th March 10am – 4pm. Finish the trail at Chococo to claim an Easter treat whilst entering a draw for the chance to win a celebrated Chocolate Dinosaur egg.

National Trust Cadbury's Egg HuntWinchester’s Museums also have some Easter activities planned for some egg-ducational bunny and chick related activities.  The Westgate Museum will be holding an Easter spotter quiz throughout the easter holidays.  There will be some bunnies hiding throughout the museum and children can win a small tasty prize if they spot them all.  The museum is open 10am – 5pm, Monday to Saturday and 12pm – 5pm on Sundays. The Gurkha Museum will be offering an Easter chick hunt with a treat for explorers and normal admission fees apply. Winchester City Mill will be offering a Cadbury’s Easter egg hunt with clues hidden around the 17th-century working corn mill, part of a UK National Trust Cadbury’s egg hunt.

Marwell egg huntFor egg-splorers willing to travel that little bit further, Hinton Ampner will be inviting young Indiana Jones’s to hunt for giant eggs in the grounds with a Cadbury’s Egg head as their egg-grail.  There will be free face painting on offer over the easter weekend too. Marwell Zoo is advertising its Wild Egg Hunt for a chance to meet the Easter Bunny in his burrow and enjoy a free chocolate egg. Again, normal admission fees apply.

Cathedral Easter Buscuits
Cathedral Easter Buscuits

For a guide to Easter holy week at Winchester Cathedral, please visit here. Aside from the services on offer, the Cathedral have also hidden ten giant eggs for ‘eggspert’ egg hunters to find, with a chocolate prize to collect from the gift shop at the end.  The trail is available during normal visitor opening hours, Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 5pm and on Sunday 12.30pm – 3pm. Cathedral entry fees apply. Free for annual pass holders (£7.50 adult annual pass, free entry for children under 16 visiting with family). The Cathedral refectory will be offering a ‘drop-in’ easter biscuit decorating session, Sat 26, Sun 27, Mon 28 and Sat 2 and Sun 3 Apr. There is no need to book in advance with a suggested donation of £1 offering exploring adults the chance to sit down with a cup of something whilst the sugar-seekers get creative.

Henry-VFor some theatrical tonic to relieve the easter overload, and while you are visiting the Cathedral, don’t forget to book your tickets to see Antic Disposition’s Henry V by William Shakespeare on 18 April at 7.30pm.  The play marks both the centenary of the First World War and the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.

Travels with my AuntFor another evening of entertainment, book tickets to see Creative Cow’s Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene, adapted by Giles Haverga at the Theatre Royal.  The production, directed by Amanda Knott, takes us on a journey with Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager with a penchant for dahlias, in a madcap dash around the world. Our Win Guide editor will be bringing you some more details soon on the production, running 28 March – 2nd April.

Enjoy the bountiful easter experiences our number one city has to offer, city folk, and stock up on toothpaste.

Win Guide to February

Get ready, Winchester, for there are 29 days in February 2016 which means we are in a leap year.  Ladies, traditionally this extra day is an opportunity to propose to your significant other if you feel so inclined, a custom dating back to 5th century Ireland and ‘St Bridget’s complaint’ to St Patrick about women having to wait. Partners, if for whatever reason you spurn the proposal, please be ready to pay a fine in the form of a pair of silk gloves. Do keep us posted on any leap year love matches. Here’s our guide to make this February a good one:

Winchester Cocktail Week
Winchester Cocktail Week

This month marks the inaugural Winchester cocktail week, 1 – 7 February. Yes, you heard it correctly, a whole week dedicated to supping cocktails in some of Winchester’s finest establishments. A collaboration between the Cabinet Rooms and Winchester Bid, you can purchase a wrist band for £15 to be entitled to £4 signature cocktails at venues across the city. There are also various masterclasses on offer for wristband holders, so you can learn more about cocktail artistry. Special events include the Luxardo masterclass with Chococo, 2 & 3 February. Expect cherries soaked in Luxardo, chocolate and cocktails – sounds decadent. Entry is free for wristband holders and £5 for others.  You can book tickets by popping into Chococo or by emailing Libby here. On 4 February, the Theatre Royal bar will be taken over by mixologist supremos from Hartnett, Holder and Co. Entry is free for wristband holders but do reserve your place in advance.  For full details on other events and participating venues, visit the website.

Imperfection
Imperfection

Award winning performance artist Peta Lily will be performing her confessional theatre piece ‘Imperfection’ at the Winchester Discovery Centre, 11 February at 7.45pm. Imperfection takes an unflinching look at the ordinary. An all-waving, all-drowning look at hidden corners of life where Dionysian worship rubs shoulders with Stevie Smith, Charles Bukowski and Japanese outsider art. The show is well worth a visit and tickets are available here.

Grease
Grease

We’ve got chills and they’re multiplying – Encore Youth Theatre will be singing their hearts out with Grease at the Theatre Royal, 17 – 20 February. It’s also the theatre troupe’s 35th birthday this year, so join them for a rock and roll celebration.

Winchester Rotary
Winchester Rotary

Winchester rotary will be holding a charity swimathon on 20 February in the Winchester College Pool. Teams of 8 are invited to participate in a 55 minute sponsored swimming relay. £25 of funds raised by each team will go to the Winchester rotary with the remainder going to other charities of their choice. To register, visit here.

Winchester 10k road race
Winchester 10k road race

The Winchester 10k Road Race starts outside the Guildhall on 21 February.  Participants must be over 16 to enter and will need parental consent if they are under 18.  The route includes a trip to Kingsworthy with a return leg through the village of Headbourne Worthy before the finish line at the Winchester City football club ground, where there will be custom medals, bottled water, bananas and Haribos on offer. Visit here to register.

Little Pickles Market
Little Pickles Market

Little Pickles Market will be taking over the Riverpark Leisure centre on 21 February with over 30 nearly new tables of baby kit: prams, high chairs, toys, books, maternity wear – the works.  The market is open from 2-3.30pm and entrance is £1, with kids allowed in for free.

Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium
Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium

Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium will be hosting an exciting programme of activities for the school holidays, 12 – 22 February.  Advanced booking is advised, particularly for the planetarium cinema shows. Opening hours are 9.30am – 5pm. Keep an eye out for Destination Space, a live family show running at 10.45am & 2.45pm focussing on Tim Peake’s mission to the International Space Programme.

Leap your way through February, Wintonians, for it is not long now until Spring.

Win Guide to Easter

Egg-cellent news! It’s Easter time and there’s lots of egg-citing things on offer! Here’s the Win Guide to Easter.

Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle

Highclere Castle is well worth a visit this weekend. Built on the foundations of the medieval palace of the Bishops of Winchester (who owned the estate in Newbury from the 8th century), since 1679 the castle has been home to the Earls of Carnarvon. Never a retiring lot, the  Carnarvons have been noted for Egyptology (the 5th Earl was present at the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb), for an association with HRH Elizabeth II’s race horses (the 7th Earl was racing manager for her majesty) and now synonymous with the thespian equivalent of royalty in the form of Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville et al. as the filming location for Downton Abbey. This weekend, Sunday 5th April, the Highclere team will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt  event to raise funds for local charity Naomi House and Jacksplace. Lady Carnarvon herself will be judging an Easter bonnet parade. Spider-Man and Elsa from ‘Frozen’ will be wandering the grounds, and there will be market stalls, a vintage car display, a climbing wall and zip wire, a petting farm and birds of prey on offer to boot! Tickets are a steal at £5 on the door.

Closer to home, Sparsholt College will be holding an ‘Easter Bunny and Chick’ weekend from Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th April. It’s an Alice In Wonderland – themed affair with a Mad Hatter’s tea party, Easter egg hunt and classic craft activities such as egg painting.  Not forgetting the newly-hatched chicks and young bunnies on display, it sounds like a must visit for families.

Winchester Cathedral - Easter Egg Trail
Cathedral – Easter Egg Trail

Winchester Cathedral will be holding its own ‘Easter Egg Trail’ between the 5th – 19th April.   Ten decorative eggs will be hidden amongst the stunning architecture for ‘eggsplorers’ to discover, and free chocolate prizes can be claimed in the Cathedral gift shop.  Services on Easter Day itself (5 April) will be 8am Holy Communion, 10am Choral Mattins (Preacher: The Bishop), 11.15am Festal Eucharist (Preacher: The Dean) and 3.30 Choral Evensong.

Winchester Bunny Hop
Winchester Bunny Hop

The Winchester Bunny Hop will be celebrating its sixth birthday this year.  It’s a great initiative on the part of Winchester City Council, Winchester Bid and, this year, Chococo the chocolate shop and cafe have rightly got in on the action.  The quiz allows children to hunt for egg-shaped clues hidden in participating shops in Winchester and rearrange them into an Easter themed word to claim a Chococo prize. And if that’s not incentive enough, the Chococo team have recently been hailed as experts in the field of Easter chocolates. Their ‘Robot’ egg was dubbed by the Telegraph as ‘best egg for children’ on 28th March 2015. Even better news: they will be open every day over the Easter weekend. Quiz sheets can be collected from the Winchester Tourist information centre or downloaded here: http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/winchester-bunny-hop-2015.

Cornflowers Gift Shop
Cornflowers Gift Shop

A spring-time stroll to Kingsgate Village is always worthwhile to walk off the chocolate and browse for an Easter gift, curtesy of Cornflowers Gift Shop, Kingsgate Books and Prints, P&G Wells Booksellers, Kingsgate Wines and of course a visit to the Wykeham Arms for rest and refreshment awaits. Finally, don’t forget to visit to the 17th Century City Mill who will be offering hot cross bun baking on Friday 3rd April, and a Cadbury Eggsplorer Easter Egg trail over the weekend.

Have fun, and stock up on Gaviscon…