Winchester has been named as one of the prettiest places to go Christmas shopping in the UK, according to readers of The Times.

It was featured among seven locations in the article 'The UK’s prettiest towns for Christmas shopping — chosen by you'.

The newspaper wrote: "The festive season is all about sharing, and last week you did just that with insider suggestions on the best yuletide places to shop. Here are your top picks."

The full list of the prettiest places to go Christmas shopping according to readers of The Times can be seen on The Times website here.

Winchester among prettiest UK places for Christmas shopping

The praises of several readers were cited by The Times as justification for Winchester's inclusion on the prettiest places for Christmas shopping list.

Annie Green was one of those to heap praise on the city, saying: “Our beautiful historic city labels itself the ‘Christmas capital’ of England — even of the UK.”

Denise Milford shared similar sentiments, saying that “Winchester is beautiful at Christmas and often has a skating rink too, with a Christmas fair”.

Meanwhile, Neil Gent commented: “A friend of mine used to take his wife Christmas shopping to Winchester every year. He’d sit in the bar at the hotel; she’d go round the shops and bring things to show him. The shops didn’t seem to mind.” 

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Additionally, the city's "excellent independent shops" were cited as a big reason for its inclusion on the list.

If you were looking for a place to stay then The Times recommended The Old Vine, an 18th-century inn located close to the centre of the city.

One of the selling points for Winchester being seen as a great place for Christmas shopping in the UK is its Christmas market hosted at Winchester Cathedral.

That is now underway and will be open until December 21 with a number of vendors selling quality gifts and delicious food and drink.