Hampshire and Wight for Visitors Quiz

Answer: The Solent

The Solent, thanks to the Isle of Wight, is sheltered and benefits from 'double tides'. This has led to the growth of maritime cities such as Portsmouth and Southampton, in Hampshire and led to the first hovercraft tests taking place in Cowes (Isle of Wight), while at Hayling Island in Hampshire, windsurfing is said to have been invented.

Answer: The Needles

Other than the scenic stacks, the west of the island known to the Romans as 'Vectis' offers the attractively multicoloured sands of Alum Bay, and a Tudor castle in the resort of Yarmouth. In the centre of the island lies the capital of Newport, and the Norman fortress of Carisbrooke Castle.

Answer: Victoria

Victoria's little-changed residence is near Cowes, the biggest centre for yachting in Britain, and home to 'Cowes Week', the country's biggest yachting gala. Meanwhile, Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin are pleasant East coast resorts, and Sandown Chine and Blackgang Chine (near Ventnor) are decorated gorges with plenty of child-focused attractions.

Answer: False

Unsurprisingly, the tide did not recede. The performance was supposedly set up to embarrass toadying courtiers (some say the performance may actually have happened at Bosham, in West Sussex). More recently, Southampton became a busy port, from which ships including the Titanic and the Mayflower have set off. Also in the city are surviving sections of the fourteenth-century walls, gates and towers and some attractive buildings of the period.

Answer: Cutty Sark

The island city is also known as the birthplace of Charles Dickens. Its centre may be unexceptional, but on the waterfront, aside from the extensive dockyards, you can visit a museum dedicated to the D-Day invasion of France and remains of a castle in the jolly resort-suburb of Southsea. If you're around in summer, you can also see the offshore Spithead Fort, built in the 1860s to defend Portsmouth against enemy ships.

Answer: Third-century Romans

Portchester Castle is the best-preserved Roman fort in northern Europe, having been complemented by a Norman keep. Southeast Hampshire is a haven for people interested in military and naval history, with a submarine museum in in Gosport and the Royal Armouries' artillery collection in Fareham.

Answer: Aldershot

Although north Hampshire attracts fewer visitors than the Solent area, there is plenty to do in the area. You could visit the extensive remains of the Iron Age and Roman market town of Silchester, including an amphitheatre, the even older Danebury Ring hill fort near Andover, or the working silk mill at Whitchurch.

Answer: Jane Austen

You might visit the Jane Austen museum in her former home, near Alton. The charming town of Alton is on the Watercress Line, a steam railway running through the watercress fields of central Hampshire. Also in the region is the town of Romsey with its stunning Norman Abbey.

Answer: Round Table

Winchester was a sizable Roman town, and later became Alfred the Great's capital. Alongside the Great Hall and glorious mediaeval cathedral, where St Swithun and the kings Knut I and William II lie, there is the splendour of Wren's Bishop's Palace, the fourteenth-century Winchester College, and remains of a castle.

Answer: New Forest

Despite its name, the New Forest was created by the Normans, and large areas of it are not wooded. The area is ideal for gentle walks, with wild ponies and deer roaming among ancient oak and beech trees. Also in southwest Hampshire is Beaulieu, where you can find the National Motor museum, and the attractive Georgian port of Lymington. So follow those throughout history who've come to visit Hampshire and the Isle of Wight - you won't be disappointed!