Alton to Chawton Walking Tour in the Footsteps of Jane Austen

During this two and a half hour tour I will take you to discover the places that marked the life and inspired the works of Jane Austen and accompany you along the path that she herself used to take when an DA goes from Chawton, the village where she lived with her mother and sister, to the nearby town of Alton to shop or visit friends or family. The tour departs from Alton train station and follows the "Jane Austen Trail" to Chawton. Alton is a beautiful town in Hampshire surrounded by 360-degree DATA from the beautiful countryside of southern England which is about 70 kilometres from London and half an hour from Winchester. In its old town there are many buildings associated with the life of Jane Austen that are mentioned in her letters. In this first part of the tour, I will take you to discover Alton and the places related to the author of Pride and Prejudice, as well as providing some information related to the history and present of this beautiful town.

After visiting Alton, the tour continues to the nearby village of Chwaton (about 1.2 miles from the center of Alton) along the "Jane Austen Trail", the route she herself used to travel when going from place to place. The route is flat and passes entirely on sidewalks so it is suitable for everyone. Chawton is a delightful village in the South Downs National Park, with thatched fairytale cottages, beautiful parkland and a romantic stone church. But Chawton is above all the place where Jane Austen lived happily the last eight years of her life and wrote most of her novels. 2025 is the right year to visit Chawton because it is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen. In this part of the tour I will take you to discover the village that Jane Austen knew and loved and offer you a taste of how to live in an English village starting from my daily experience as a resident of Chawton.

The house where Jane Austen lived for eight years with her mother, sister Cassandra and best friend Martha Lloyd before her untimely death on July 18, 1817. The tour departs and arrives in front of Jane Austen's House, which is right in the middle of Chawton village. In my introduction I will provide some general and contextual information about this important building, although, for a complete knowledge, I invite you to visit it at the end of my tour because it is really worth it. Jane Austen's House is now a well-run foundation museum and is universally considered the best place in the world to immerse yourself in the life of this extraordinary writer. I suggest you book your visit in advance on the Jane Austen’s House website because admission is limited and, due to the celebrations for the two hundred and fiftyth anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, in 2025 there are many visitors from all over the world.

The manor house inherited from Jane Austen's brother Edward, along with the entire Chawton estate and many other estates in the counties of Hampshire and Kent. Jane Austen often speaks of Chawton House in her letters and jokingly calls it "The Big House", , the Great House in Italian. The residence is managed by a foundation and is very nice to visit (entrance fee not included in the turret) but has a beautiful public park of several hectares that is open to the public all year round. I invite you to visit Chawton House at the end of my tour because it is a splendid example of a typical English country house with beautiful interiors and many links to Jane Austen. Advance booking is not required - tickets can be purchased directly on site.

The beautiful Victorian church dedicated to St Nicholas which is now the parish of the village of Chawton but which, in the time of Jane Austen, was the private chapel of the Knight family and was part of the Chawton House estate owned by her brother Edward.