Southampton played a significant role in Jane Austen’s life. After her father’s death in 1805, she moved to the city with her mother and sister, living for three years in Castle Square. The Jane Austen Heritage Trail links eight sites she would have known, including the Dolphin Hotel, where she attended a ball to celebrate her 18th birthday.
A new exhibition at the Sea City Museum opens on 29 March, showcasing rarely seen letters, paintings, and personal items. Titled “A Very Respectable Company – Jane Austen and her Southampton Circle,” it highlights her friendships with women who influenced her work. Visitors can stay at Pig in the Wall, a boutique hotel with just eight cozy bedrooms and a lounge-deli serving locally sourced produce.
Chawton, Hampshire
Chawton is where Austen spent the last eight years of her life, revising and writing all six of her novels. Her cottage, gifted by her brother Edward Knight, is now a museum, along with Chawton House, the Elizabethan manor he owned.
Jane Austen’s House offers a year-long program of events, starting with the “Spring Fling: Sense & Sensibility Festival” (1-11 May), featuring guided tours, performances, and workshops. Other themed events include “Emma” (12-20 July) and “Persuasion & Poetry” (12-21 September), concluding with a birthday celebration in December.
Chawton House Library presents “Sisters of the Pen: Austen, Influence, Legacy,” an exhibition exploring female authors who influenced or were influenced by Austen. The Jane Austen Trail follows her regular route to Alton, where visitors can stay at the Swan Hotel, a historic coaching inn.
Bath, Somerset
Despite once calling it “the most tiresome place in the world,” Austen’s history is deeply tied to Bath, where she lived from 1801 to 1806. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers an elegant Georgian backdrop of colonnades, squares, and Roman baths. Visitors can take tea in the Pump Room, relax in the Thermae Bath Spa, and even sample the mineral-rich waters.
The Jane Austen Centre provides an immersive experience with costumed guides and interactive exhibits. In celebration of Austen 250, it hosts three Regency balls (31 May, 28 June, and 13 December), complete with dance workshops. No 1 Royal Crescent features an exhibition titled “The Most Tiresome Place in the World” (5 July-2 November), showcasing Austen’s letters and the only manuscript she wrote while living there.
Bath’s annual Jane Austen Festival, running from 12-21 September, includes balls, country dances, workshops, talks, and the largest Regency Costume Parade in the world. Visitors can stay at No 15 Bath, a stylish Georgian townhouse hotel with unique amenities like record players and a complimentary snack pantry.
Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Chatsworth House, famously featured as Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, embraces its literary connection with a Regency-themed weekend (13-15 June). Events include talks, garden tours, theater performances, and a chance to try on Regency attire. Visitors are encouraged to attend in period dress.
Accommodation options on the estate range from self-catering cottages to charming inns, with the Pilsley Inn offering a cozy retreat, firelit dining rooms, and well-crafted pub classics.
Winchester, Hampshire
Austen spent her final days in Winchester in 1817 and is buried in the north aisle of its grand 11th-century cathedral.
No 8 College Street, where Austen passed away, opens to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays from 4 June to 30 August. Winchester Cathedral hosts a series of events, including a Regency Ball (31 May), themed guided tours, talks, and an interactive family trail.
For a characterful stay, the Wykeham Arms offers a mix of historic charm and modern comfort, with luxurious rooms featuring Bramley toiletries and Egyptian cotton bedding perfect for settling in with an Austen novel.
