words & photos by Katie Isham. Between Southampton and Eastleigh sprawls much green space. But it’s disappearing. The grassland that was once rampant, is incrementally invaded by housing estates and development. It’d been a few years since visiting the fields I’d once discovered after seeking an alternate car park...
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Suburban Safari: Sholing safari
by Katie Isham. Sometime last year, something magical sparked on the streets of Sholing, Southampton. The ordinary green telephone cabinets took on a brighter look. Neon animals crept out of the undergrowth and onto the metal canvas. Or so it seemed. In truth, local artist Joanna Rose Tidey was...
View from the Kingsland: Life at the bottom part 2
by Nick Mabey. Three weeks after I last wrote we remain rooted to the bottom of the league. In that article (click here to read it) I said that if we didn’t beat Forest we could give up hope. Well, we didn’t beat Forest and yet hope is not...
Suburban Safari: A New Year in Old Town
by Katie Isham. A new year seems apt for a visit to the Old Town area of our fair city. This part of our history is wonderful to visit any time, but during the dark winter days when moonlit moments outnumber the daylight hours, it’s an interesting time to...
View from the Kingsland – Life at the bottom
by Nick Mabey. How does the joke go? We must be the strongest team in the league, we’re propping everyone else up. That’s how it’s been for Southampton since the season resumed on Boxing Day. Rock bottom. It’s been a while since we were stuck at the foot of...
Suburban Safari: Out of the darkness…
by Katie Isham. Here we are in the darkest months of the year, and this year, for one reason or another, feels particularly dark. So, it might be the perfect time to take a wander through the light. Beyond the Romsey borders, is an enclave of botanical beauty: Sir...
View from the Kingsland: being on the pitch not in the stands
by Nick Mabey. Almost exactly 12 hours after England’s sad exit from the World Cup I found myself inside St. Mary’s stadium with 800 other hardy (or is that foolhardy?) souls. We were lined up for the start of the inaugural Southampton FC 10k race, an event that started...
Suburban Safari: A drop in the Itchen
by Katie Isham. Dip a toe into the Itchen Navigation. Not literally. Keep your walking boots on. But we’ll wander a small section of the trail that runs alongside the river to get a taste of what those dedicated long-distance walkers find so alluring. Start in Bishopstoke, on the...
View from the Kingsland: Strange days indeed
by Nick Mabey. It’s November and the World Cup is in full swing. That’s not a sentence I ever imagined saying, and yet here we are. It wasn’t even a plan. We ended up here because someone realised, too late it seems, that it would be too hot to...
Suburban Safari: Leafy suburbs in Ashurst
by Katie Isham. Our Suburban Safaris have sprawled across the city of Southampton and beyond. They’ve visited parks, gardens, woodlands, beaches, cemeteries, streets, shops and many a café. The definition of a suburb is an area outside, yet near a city, and consisting mainly of homes. For this safari,...