{"id":14592,"date":"2026-02-21T23:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hweb.uk\/?p=14592"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:15:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:15:57","slug":"winchester-helios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hweb.uk\/?p=14592","title":{"rendered":"Winchester: Helios"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 38 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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After seeing the stunning Moon installation at Tewkesbury Abbey, I had read more about the artist Luke Jerram and discovered he had two further installations touring the globe. Helios (the sun) and Gaia (Earth).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even better when I found out that Helios would be installed at Winchester Cathedral<\/a><\/strong> in February. Hopefully with the holiday, we have time to pop down to see it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time we were in Winchester, the Thai restaurant Jon fancied trying was closed (doesn’t open for Monday lunchtimes!) so fingers crossed they’d have a table for us this afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We parked at the St Catherine’s Park & Ride just off the M3. With it being a Saturday, we thought the car parks in town would be busy. The car park was really quiet and just had to wait for the bus. It costs \u00a33.50 to park all day for you and up to four passengers. A lot cheaper than parking in the city … alrhough you are at the whim of the bus timetable. The interactive display at the bus stop showed when the next bus was due … the “bus due” in 5 minutes displayed was more like 10 minutes according to our watches!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, we’ve got off at the Guildhall when using the Park & Ride – it’s close to the cathedral and shops. This time we were getting off at Jewry Street as the restaurant Jon had picked for lunch was here. We saw places in Winchester we hadn’t seen before and weren’t really sure where we were to the High Street and Cathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ate at Bangkok Bistro<\/a><\/strong> for lunch. It’s quite a large restaurant but not that busy at lunch time. The menu had some really interesting main dishes on that we hadn’t seen on Thai menus previously. There were about three different options for sea bass and also a trout dish on the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We chose a mixed platter for starters; fishcakes, chicken satay, vegetable spring rolls and duck rolls. The spring rolls and duck rolls were delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For mains, Jon chose Basil Beef Stirfry and I had the Thai Mango Chicken served with Yellow Noodles with vegetables and Egg Fried Rice. It was all really good but the Beef was the stand out dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pleasant surprise when we received the bill – unbeknownest to us, there was a 25% discount at lunchtime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From here we walked to the end of Jewry Street and found we were at the top of the High Street – the main pedestrianised shopping street in Winchester. Had we turned right, we would be at Westgate Tower and the Great Hall, heading uphill towards the Military Museums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Five minutes later we were in sight of the Cathedral. Entry into the Cathedral is no longer free – you need to buy an annual pass for \u00a314 (\u00a313 if you buy online). As soon as you enter, there are guides waiting to escort you around the Cathedral. We did have a guided tour a couple of years back, which provided a great insight into the history, especially about the large stained glass window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to make our own way around – dodging the 8 or so tour groups that were making their way around.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Helios <\/a><\/strong>is artwork by Luke Jerram. We first came across him at Tewkesbury Abbey with the Museum of the Moon. As soon you enter the Nave of the Cathedral, the giant sun appears. It does look stunning and the cathedral setting makes a fabulous backdrop. You can walk under and around the sun to capture from various different angles. As you walk around exploring the cathedral, you catch glimpses of sun.<\/p>\n\n\n

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