Welcome to the Hampshire Directory

The county of Hampshire is located in the central-southern region of England on the south coast. Hampshire shares borders with the counties of Surrey, West Sussex, Dorset, Wiltshire and Berkshire.

The county town of Hampshire is Winchester and the two largest cities are Portsmouth and Southampton. Other main towns in the county are: Aldershot; Andover; Basingstoke; Eastleigh; Fareham; Farnborough; Fleet; Gosport; Havant; Hedge End; Locks Heath; New Milton; Totton; Waterlooville; Winchester and Petersfield. Also included within Hampshire is the Isle of Wight and in particular three towns, Cowes, Ryde and Newport IoW.

Due to its proximity to the sea and mainland Europe, Hampshire has a tradition of being a maritime county. The ports of Portsmouth and Southampton are two of the biggest in the country and Portsmouth is famous for its naval base and historic dockyard area.

Hampshire is also blessed with magnificent countryside. A large area of the South Downs is within the county border as is the New Forest National Park, home of the famous wild ponies that live in the forest. There are also many lovely seaside resorts to enjoy and sailing is particularly popular in the county.

Hampshire has some very large cities and towns within its borders but is also a very scenic place to live and work. It was probably also an influence in the writing of two of its most famous residents, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.