By Mabel Wellman.
What comes to mind when you think of Southampton?
To a lot of people, I find that frustratingly the only thing that may come to mind is the Titanic. However, there is a lot more to our city than just a sinking ship! Here are some of the things I love about Southampton which I hope you may look out for or perhaps appreciate a bit more after reading this.
Green Spaces
From my count under Southampton City Councils “A-Z of Parks”, and then adding on Southampton Common; the Central Parks (of which there are 5), Lordswood, and the Outdoor Sports centre, there are (at least) 57 parks and 8 greenways in Southampton. With many more green spaces including the Royal Victoria Country Park and the New Forest just outside of our city borders but easily accessible by bike, bus or train.
These green (and blue!) spaces range from the manicured and magnificent Central Parks, to the bird-nurturing waterways of Chessel Bay and the historically significant site Clausentum (Bitterne Manor). According to the Ordnance Survey in 2023, we are ranked 20th in the UK for cities with the most green space (having 18.10% total green space). This is especially noticeable when you visit our Hampshire neighbour Portsmouth which comes in at 46th place and is significantly… greyer. Winchester does beat us just barely at 19th place (18.14%) – but Winchester is far smaller than Southampton – so we can still boast our incredible feat in green space over a much larger area, with far more options of types of parks and green spaces.
Ultimately, these green spaces are more than just a place to find a bench or patch of grass for lunch in summer. These parks help us to stay healthy by giving us plenty more options than others have to find a new place of scenery to exercise and get fresh air. This also of course has many mental health benefits, and also homes a lot of fauna and flora – which the world is rapidly losing at a terrifying rate. So the next time you’re at home, the sun’s shining, and you think you have no place to go – think of how many of the 57 parks in Southampton you know by name or memory, and have an adventure to one that is new to you. (Check out our Suburban Safari series for more inspiration!).
Geothermal Power
Southampton, being an internationally important port city, might not be the first city you think of when thinking about renewable energy or combating climate change. But did you know that we had the first geothermal power scheme in the UK?
In 1986, Southampton City Council leaders organised the opening and operation of Southampton District Power Scheme. In which 26,000 Megawatts of electricity is produced a year, as well as 80,000 Megawatts of heat which is part of a heat network which helps to heat a combination of commercial and residential buildings in Southampton. The scheme has continued to innovate, and chilled water is also generated to be used for air conditioning.
Ultimately, more and more schemes like this are going to need to be proposed and developed in the UK to further cut carbon emissions and produce the electricity and heating needed. This is something that Southampton has been a pioneer of for almost 40 years, and we will undoubtedly be a shining example for how these schemes can be successful and provide for our needs for generations to come.
Activism & Volunteering
Perhaps this comes from our “Spitfire Spirit”, but Sotonians have a lot to be proud of in just how welcome we are to diversity and supporting our most vulnerable.
For the past three years, Southampton has been one of very few cities to boast having three Pride events for our LGBTQIA+ community. This includes our oldest, largest and most beloved Southampton Pride; People’s Pride Southampton’s “Pride In The Park”; and Trans Pride Southampton. These event organisations have helped not just bring together the community, but also help fight for our rights in the most worrying of times for the trans community in particular.
Just this past weekend, a hastily arranged protest against the Supreme Court’s ruling on whether the definition of a woman in law included trans women (saying they were not included) had people travelling to Southampton from as far as Bath. These hundreds of people marching and chanting for trans rights in the city under such short notice highlights the values for tolerance and compassion our city has for our most vulnerable. Southampton truly is a landmark city for our activism efforts.
Southampton, unsurprisingly as a port city, is incredibly diverse, and in recent times where certain groups have tried to tear us apart Sotonians have by and large come together to protest against racism, and assert that Palestinians, Ukrainians and refugees and asylum seekers from anywhere in the world are welcome.
In Southampton there is no shortage of opportunities to volunteer and give back to the community, whilst developing one’s skills and confidence. Our very own Southampton Voluntary Services has been functioning since 1968 to help support volunteers and organisations in need of volunteers.
Two Universities
Southampton has another unique selling point in that we have two universities – the University of Southampton and Solent University, of which there are some 37,000 students local to Southampton for their studies. With our fantastic amount of green space I’d argue we’re definitely one of the best cities to facilitate them too.
Not everyone thinks of having so many students as a positive thing, sadly. However, there are many pros to having a diverse and young population. This has a very positive effect on our night time economy, there are always amazing up-and-coming indie bands having gigs in the city thanks to the great crowd we can be to perform in front of. It also has a mutual benefit to our aforementioned volunteer sector. In my experiences with volunteering, a large number of colleagues I have met have been university students trying to develop new skills and see what interests them outside of their studies, likewise this has been crucial in filling many voluntary roles so that we can continue to support our community’s most vulnerable people.
Buildings
In World War 2, some 45,000 buildings were damaged in 57 air raids. As the home of the Spitfire Supermarine, produced in Woolston and the symbol for freedom and resilience against tyranny, we suffered greatly as a consequence.
However, through that punishment for defending our freedom, it cleared the way for many interesting buildings and places to appreciate. One of which is Blechynden Terrace Gardens, a small park right near Central Station, which includes some of the remains of the Empeira Building which was hit in an air raid in WW2. Whilst small, it is a very interesting park to see the beautifully preserved remains of a bomb-damaged building.
Just across the road from Blechynden Terrace Gardens is one of my favourite buildings in Southampton – Wyndham Court. This 184 apartment fortress of concrete is a grade II listed building and is one of the best examples of brutalism we have in the city. I’m certainly not the only person who admires this building, its character is as strong as the concrete it’s made from, and whilst many people may not see its beauty – it did win an architectural design award when the building was designed in 1966. Be sure to visit the terrace gardens and take a look at Wyndham Court in summer – when the small tree in the centre of the court is in full bloom.
For those of you who might need to see buildings that’s more “easy on the eyes,” we are also fortunate enough to have many buildings designed by the British Architect and Welwyn Garden City director Herbert Collins. Examples of his work can be found in Highfield, Bassett Green, and Swaythling. In researching for this article, I was surprised to learn that Collins had plans for a garden city in Marchwood but when he proposed the idea to the founder of the Garden City Movement, Ebenezer Howard, it unfortunately did not capture their imagination.
Other examples of interesting buildings in Southampton are the beautiful Regency buildings on Calton Crescent, and a short walk down from these is also the local “golden tooth” landmark outside Bedford Place Dentist – which is a 30kg carved oak tooth painted in 24 carat gold, of which may be the only facade of its kind in the UK. In 2003, the golden tooth was stolen from the dentist, and a ransom was threatened to ensure the tooth’s safe return, thankfully this villainous “tooth fairy” did return the gilded molar in one (cavity-free) piece.
These are my five things about Southampton that I love (I bet you can’t even remember what the Titanic is after reading that!). I’ve always lived in Southampton and, in these 23 years I still find out facts and new places to go in my local area which has kept me interested. Please let me know what your favourite feature of this list was, and tell us anything you think should have been on the top 5 list instead.
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