Winchester Brew - 29th January '26

Winchester has a new sun this week, and it even does after-hours.

First up, a warm welcome to everyone who’s joined us recently. You’ve landed in a busy little stretch of the calendar, with Helios glowing away in the Cathedral, plenty of live music, a few properly niche talks, and a handful of things that will quietly sell out while you’re making a cup of tea.

Our pick for the week is the late-night Helios opening (3 February, 7–9pm), with the installation at full intensity in the evening, accompanied by a one-off set from Winnall Rock School bringing some teen-spirit energy into those acoustics.

As ever, the list below covers the next seven days, and we try to only include events that still have availability. Do double-check before you head out.

And if you know someone who’d enjoy a weekly nudge to get out of the house, please do pass this on. The referral links are waiting for you at the end.

🌞🖼️ Late night opening: Helios - Enjoy the Art Installation at Night. A rare opportunity to visit the cathedral at night; end your day on a high, as you experience this spectacular sun installation in such majestic surroundings. Including performances by Winnall Rock School. With no distractions of external sunlight, you’ll be able to experience the sun in full glow, as it illuminates the nave.

With no distractions of external sunlight, you’ll be able to experience the sun in full glow, as it illuminates the nave. Invite family and friends for a night to remember.

To set the scene, Winnall Rock School’s young musicians will perform a one-off set of sun-inspired songs and original compositions around and under the Helios exhibition during this late night opening. Working with the extraordinary acoustics of the cathedral and combining samples, voice, acoustic and electric instruments, this is energy, fire, peace and teen spirit.

When: Thursday 3rd February. 7pm to 9pm

Where: Winchester Cathedral

How much: £7

A curated list of events from the next seven days. We try to only include events that still have availability, though things can sell out quickly so best to check ahead. Cheapest adult ticket price option shown unless otherwise stated.

🌻🖼️🌻 Van Gogh Alive Winchester: Step into Vincent’s vivid world, Winchester Science Centre, runs until late March. Immerse yourself in the most visited multisensory experience in the world as his masterpieces come to life, giving you the sensation of being amongst his paintings. £30

🌞🖼️ Here comes the Sun Helios: An art installation by Luke Jerram, Winchester Cathedral, from 30th January to 1st March. The Helios artwork by artist Luke Jerram is coming to Winchester for the first time in January 2026. Pop in to the cathedral to marvel at its beauty or join one of the many events and activities that will be taking place in the sunshine, from pilates to silent discos.

📚🖼️ Folding Space Japanese and UK Artists' Books - Opening Event, The Winchester Gallery, at 5:00 PM. Contemporary book based artworks from Japan have travelled to the UK to meet their counterparts, selected from Winchester School of Art’s Library Collection. Displayed together, they will communicate and connect to open up further dialogue around what a book is and can be.

👋🚴 South Coast Peloton Off-Bike Social, South Down Social, at 6:00 PM. No bikes, no pressure, just good vibes and good company. Join us for our January social where you can meet the team and riders behind the community before our rides start for 2026. Also check out demo bikes from @velolineuk.

📚🏛️ Talk: 110 years of Air Despatch – the art of chucking things out of aircraft!, The Royal Logistics Corp Museum, at 7:30 PM. Join us at the RLC Museum for an insightful journey as we celebrate 110 years of Air Despatch—the uniquely daring, ingenious, and often unsung craft of delivering essential supplies from aircraft. £12

🎤 Having The Track, The Railway Inn, at 8:00 PM. Featuring Steve Hall, Stephen Di Placito, Rae Lloyd, Kathryn Vine and Hosted by Ben Ashurst. Steve Hall is a stand-up comedian and writer, who has opened for the likes of Lee Mack, Bill Burr and most notably Russell Howard, for whom he was the support across 6 different tours, playing venues such as Wembley Arena, the O2 and the Albert Hall. £8

🍽️🎓 Cookery Class: Skills and Passions: Souffles, Lainston House, at 10:00 AM. Fluffy, light and delicate, soufflés might look gentle enough, but this showstopping dish is the mark of a true culinary technician. In this class, we give you all the skills and techniques to add both a sweet and savoury spin on the soufflé to your repertoire. £99

🎶🎓 Ukulele Improvers, Theatre Royal Winchester, at 12:00 PM. Ukes for All host a series of intermediate ukulele classes. There’s no complicated theory or having to practice scales and things like that. Simply learn by playing songs in a friendly and relaxed environment and having a lot of fun. £13.50

🎭 Parody of the Rings, Theatre Royal Winchester, at 7:30 PM. A Hilarious and Epic Adventure! What happens when a cinema's Lord of the Rings marathon goes terribly wrong? Get ready for an uproarious evening of comedy, chaos, and utter nonsense, as they attempt to recreate the epic tale of hobbits, elves, and orcs – without any visuals, any planning, or any clue what they're doing. £19

🎶 Preacher Stone, The Railway Inn, at 7:30 PM. Kicking boots out of North Carolina USA, Preacher Stone’s high-octane, 200 proof, rock-n-roll guitar-driven songs about the common man with heart-wrenching smoky bar frequenting tales and the swagger of their live performances have earned them a legion of faithful fans known as “The Congregation”. £15

🎬🍷 Film Society: The Silence of the Lambs, Cabinet Rooms, at 9:00 PM. Shhhh... don't tell everyone but we show films downstairs in our Foreign Office. You'll have to hurry if you want to book though. There's only ten seats and spaces can sell out fast. Drink included. £15

🧘 YSC at Thrive & Wild, Kings Worthy, at 8:00 AM. Start your weekend off with some Yoga Social Club time in their new slot at Thrive & Wild. Optional supervised soft play sessions as well for the little ones. £10

🛍️🎗️ Table Top Sale, Chesil Theatre, at 10:00 AM. We are holding a Tabletop Sale with proceeds to the New Chesil Theatre Development Fund. Alongside a trove of treasures, the bar will be open for refreshments and snacks, and we will be running a tombola and raffle. We hope to see you there!

🎶🎈 evim [my home], The Nutshell, at 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM. Inspired by Sufi mystic Rumi, and the mesmerising whirling dervishes, evim [my home] is a magical and interactive performance for children aged 2-7 and their families. Entry includes adult and child. £18

🏉 Winchester Rugby vs Old Tiffinians, North Walls Park. Come along and support the Winchester 1st XV in their next home match.

🎶 The Searchers and The Hollies Experience, Theatre Royal Winchester, at 7:30 PM. The Best Of Both Worlds brings to the stage the magical hits of these two legendary harmony bands, with memories of the most high-energy decade in pop music history. Let the haunting melodies transport you to that exciting era when millions of records were sold. £16

🎶 Monkeys Into Darkness, The Railway Inn, at 8:00 PM. We’re all about loud guitars, big hooks, and songs everyone knows the words to. A 90s/00s rock covers band playing the best of Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, and many more, we bring the nostalgia and High-energy, crowd-pleasing anthems to get people singing, jumping, and reliving the golden era of guitar music. £9

🎶🌞 The Young Uns : Folk concert, Winchester Cathedral, at 8:00 PM. Enjoy an unforgettable night of folk music under the Helios installation. They’ve carried their unfortunate name around the world, from Sidney to Vancouver, from Radio Tees to Radio 4, won 3 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and gained a reputation for singing life affirming songs of social conscience in immaculate 3 part harmony. £22

🥾🌳 Overton to Deane in the footstep of Jane Austen, Overton Community Centre, at 10:00 AM. A circular walk (11km/6.8mi) from Overton to Deane and then back across the grounds of Ashe Park, seeing the beautiful countryside and houses Jane Austen knew so well in her 25 years living in Steventon. £2

🪾🎓 Wood Engraving Workshop with Kate Dicker, The Colour Factory, at 10:00 AM. With a small group, Kate will introduce participants to the exquisite world of this small scale, relief print medium. Using a practise block you will explore handling the tools: spitsticker, scorper and tint tool, all of which give multi-textured marks and delicate tones. £80

🧘 Sunday Sundown Self Care Sessions, Elevate Fitness Studios and Cafe R0st, at 5:00 PM. Think relaxed Ibiza evenings, think relaxing yoga, think about time after class with your community. Finish your weekend by joining us for a calming yoga session followed by chilled socials. £10

🎶🎗️ Sonn & Schild - Bach with Brass - Bach Winchester Voices, St Paul’s Church, at 4:00 PM. Directed by Andrew Hayman, Sonn & Schild - Bach with Brass will bring together three Bach cantatas featuring historic horns, impressive soloists and a professional period orchestra. While the horn players catch their breath, the choir will sing the moving Der Gerecht, and the orchestra will reinterpret the famous Air on the G String. £20

🎶 The Americana Revue, Theatre Royal Winchester, at 7:30 PM. Starring Ben Mills, the Americana Revue is a unique, exciting, Country Rock live music stage show celebrating many of the world's best loved U.S. artists and some of the most inspiring songs of a generation. Two hours of timeless, multi-million selling, number 1 chart hits £20

🧘🌞 Rise and Shine: Morning Pilates under the sun, Winchester Cathedral, at 7:00 AM. Led by two of Winchester’s most popular instructors, Jane Webb and Sam Parsons, these uplifting mat-based Pilates classes will flow beneath the glowing Helios artwork, blending mindful movement, history, and the energy of the sun in one of Winchester’s most iconic settings. £20

🎶🎤 Roots open mic night, The Railway Inn, at 7:30 PM. Winchester's longest running open mic night. Free entry every Monday. Signups from 7.30pm, music from 8.00pm.

📚🏛️ Archives tour, Winchester College, at 11:00 AM. This tour allows a rare opportunity to view two medieval rooms which house the school’s Archives, as well as documents and artefacts relating to the school’s history which will be on display. Tours are delivered by our College Archivist, Suzanne. £15

🎤 Poetry Platform, The Railway Inn, at 7:30 PM. Hello Writers & Audience alike. Come join us at Winchester’s most welcoming poetry open mic. Accepting spoken word and prose of all kinds we invite everyone from experienced wordsmiths to first time scribes and audience of all kinds along to an evening of lexicon, literature and language with several surprises along the way. Free to attend. Doors at 7.30, start at 8ish.

💍🎓 Ring Carving Workshop with Emily, The Colour Factory, at 2:00 PM. This session will be dedicated to carving and shaping a piece of ring wax. We’ll size the ring so it fits you, then play with a number of tools and techniques to make something you really love! You will have up to three hours to create your ring. Your wax ring will then be posted off to be cast in silver. £145

🎶🎭 Così fan tutte, Theatre Royal Winchester, at 2:30 PM and 7:30PM. Mozart's Così fan tutte – A Comedy of Love, Lies and Lessons of Life. Playful deception meets its match in Mozart's sparkling comic opera Così fan tutte, reminding us that love is rarely as simple - or as certain - as we'd like to believe. £15

🎶 Heavy Wild, The Railway Inn, at 7:30 PM. heavy wild is a London-based lo-fi alt-rock project blending post-punk grit, with shoegaze atmospherics and emotionally charged songwriting to create a dark and compelling sound. £10

🎭🎤 The Jane Austen Fan Club, The Arc, at 7:30 PM. It's a special meeting of the Jane Austen Fan Club, and you're invited! With books, bonnets - and a lifesize cardboard cutout of Colin Firth - we're celebrating everything we love about the original feminist icon. Created by Victoria Briggs and Lucy Mellors, you can expect high drama, breathless romance, and banging tunes (played on the recorder). £14

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A bit of froth to end on…

Did You Know? Founded in 1840 as a teacher-training college, the University of Winchester gained university status in 2005 and currently educates around 8,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Brain Teaser: If you hunt, you may find me. If you dig deep, you may make me. What am I? Last week’s answer: There are 10 people on board, including the driver.