Sue de Salis

Regional Qualification(s):

Southern England

Language(s):

English

Phone Number(s):

07803 182565, 01962 861689

Contact guide

Introduction:

A very warm welcome to the wonderful region of Southern England. As a Blue Badge Guide specialising in this area, I would be delighted to help you unlock its many treasures. Among the highlights awaiting a visitor are: the New Forest and its famous ponies; the Jurassic coast, still studded with evidence of the dinosaurs that once lived here; the naval port at Portsmouth, home to Nelson’s flagship at the battle of Trafalgar; and the splendour of the Royal palace at Windsor.

I am based at the heart of this fabulous region, living in Winchester, the first capital of England and the Royal centre for the Anglo Saxon kings. I am a city guide here in Winchester and conduct regular walking tours, as well as visits to our nearly 1000 year old Cathedral and to the Great Hall, home to “Arthur’s” Round Table. I am also a City Guide in Salisbury, a stunning medieval city crowned by the tallest Cathedral spire in England, and I frequently guide at nearby Stonehenge, that Neolithic masterpiece. To the North lie the dreaming spires of Oxford (which I have come to love almost as much as my old University, Cambridge!) and down to the South is Queen Victoria’s holiday island, the Isle of Wight.

When my family and I first moved into the region, I was still working as a lawyer in the City of London, a career which I had pursued for many years. But living in the South fanned my lifelong love of history, literature and the countryside and led to my second career as a Blue Badge Guide. I am constantly finding out more about the region, its stories and the people whose lives have been touched by it. I absolutely love sharing this with visitors and seeing that smile of recognition when someone hears something that helps them relate to a site, or picks out some visual detail they would not have spotted on their own.

Whether you are a visitor hoping to travel to our region, or an intermediary organising visits for others, please do get in touch: I would love to help make a visit truly special.

Personal Interests:

Stonehenge
The New Forest
The Jurassic Coast
History and pre history
Literature

Special Interests:

Castles & Palaces

Windsor
Blenheim
Old Sarum
Corfe Castle
Sherborne Castle
Osborne House
Carisbrooke Castle

Churches & Cathedrals

Winchester Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
St George's Chapel, Windsor
Romsey Abbey
St Thomas's Salisbury
Chichester Cathedral

Literature

Jane Austen (Steventon, Winchester and Chawton)
Thomas Hardy (Wessex)
John Keats (Winchester)
Lewis Carroll (Oxford)

Gardens

The Harold Hillier Gardens
Exbury
Hinton Ampner
Motisfont-national rose collection
Abbotsbury sub tropical gardens

Walking Tours

Winchester
Salisbury
Portsmouth
Southampton
Oxford
Romsey
Chichester

Archaeology

the Stonehenge landscape
Iron age hill forts and Roman traces, e.g. at Old Sarum, Salisbury Museum

Architecture

Its everywhere! It gives our cities their unique characters. Look at the Colleges of Oxford, the buildings in the Close in Salisbury, and look up in High streets such as Winchester.

Art/Paintings & Sculpture

Rex Whistler-Mottisfont, Salisbury Museum
William Turner and Constable in Salisbury and at Stonehenge
Southampton Art Gallery
Petworth House

Countryside

New Forest walks and tours
Lulworth cove and the Jurassic coast
the Isle of Wight
the water meadows

Geography & Geology

The Jurassic Coast
the Isle of Wight
the new Forest

History & Prehistory

Stonehenge and surrounding area
Salisbury Museum
Winchester as a Royal capital
Kings and Queens of England

Maritime Britain

The historic naval dockyard at Portsmouth
Southampton and the Sea City Museum and the Titanic
Weymouth and Chesil Beach
Bucklers Hard, New Forest

Law

A special interest in view of my previous career
Law Courts and prison, Winchester
Trials in Chichester
Old law courts, Southampton

Museums

Salisbury Museum
Sea City Museum, Southampton
City and Westgate Museums, Winchester
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Ashmolean, Oxford

Stately Homes & Country Houses

Hinton Ampner
Avington Park
Highclere Castle (Downton)
Wilton House
Petworth House
Sherborne Castle
Kigston Lacy
Beaulieu, New Forest

Driver Guide:

No