ABOVE: Stagecoach South 19193 (NK57 DVW), an ADL Enviro400, passes The Cricketers Public House in Fair Oak, on a working of route 69 from Winchester to Fareham. All photographs in this article were taken on Wednesday 28 January 2026.
100 British Bus Routes: Route 69
Fareham to Winchester
18 April 2026
Runs: Daily
Operator: Stagecoach South
Weekday daytime frequency: Hourly
Weekday Vehicle Requirement: Three buses
Off-peak journey time (weekdays): 76-88 minutes
Estimated route length: 22-25 miles
* Limited Saturday evening service (late evening Waltham Chase to Winchester only) / Very limited early evening service on other days
If you were to draw a straight line between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, you would find the market town of Fareham about two-thirds of the way along it.
Since 1997, Fareham has been the home of the United Kingdom's Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre, at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC), and responsible for coordinating all Maritime & Coastguard Agency Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters. I mention this particularly as I came here a few years ago with three colleagues on a work trip, where we visited the NMOC and got to sit in an SAR helicopter (while it stayed on the ground)! I was only a last-minute substitute on that visit, but it was a humbling experience looking at the equipment and hearing from the people whose job was to fly out to all manner of coastal disasters and rescue people in the most dangerous conditions.
Fareham was also historically an important manufacturer of bricks. Its bricks were used to build the Royal Albert Hall in London, for example.
It's a sizeable town. It is listed in the Domesday Book as having 90 households, and the population in 2011 was 42,210, making it by far the most significant town between the two cities.
ABOVE: Fareham Town Centre
A part of William the Conqueror's army reportedly marched from the ford at Fareham Creek (the top of Portsmouth Harbour) to the Saxon capital of England, Winchester. They might have used some of the roads that I am going to use today, as I've come to ride Stagecoach South route 69 bus to that very Saxon capital...
There's been a fair bit of electrification of buses in this region and, as a result, many of the buses in Fareham Bus Station this morning are modern electric models:
ABOVE: First Portsmouth, Fareham & Gosport 63688 (LV24 EYF), a Wright GB Kite Electroliner, heads a line-up of five buses in Gosport Bus Station. It is in the Eclipse livery for routes that run to Gosport via the Busway.
ABOVE: First 63684 (LV24 EXZ, left) and 63613 (BK73 AOF, centre), are also Wright GB Kite Electroliners. These are in "Solent Electric" livery for other routes in the area. The vehicle behind may be 35116 (SO15 CVA), a Wright StreetDeck Ultroliner.
There are a decent number of people waiting for the 11:55 departure on route 69, which hasn't appeared as of the appointed departure time. A brief whoop of excitement can be detected when a double-decker bus comes into view, but it's not the Stagecoach 69 - it's a First vehicle. First only has a handful of double-deckers in this area so it's no surprise that everyone has assumed it's the 69.
A couple of minutes later and the 69 does come into view:
ABOVE: Stagecoach South 10889 (YX67 VCA), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, arrives at Fareham Bus Station on the incoming service from Winchester.
The friendly lady driver is apologetic for the late arrival. There's a problem at Colden Common, and the bus will not be able to serve that village on this journey. At this stage, I don't know where Colden Common is, so I have no idea whether that problem is going to be significant...
But the bus is heading for Winchester, and is finally loaded (well-loaded) and ready to leave at 12:04, nine minutes behind schedule.
There's a one-way traffic system in Fareham and we need to go round much of the Town Centre to actually get out. We pass the Holy Trinity Church:
ABOVE: Holy Trinity Church, Fareham, taken earlier in the morning
And just around the corner, another church, St Peter's and St Paul's:
Finally getting free of the town, we take the main northerly route, Wickham Road.
A fork in the road is marked by the Old Turnpike Garage (now Turnpike Tyres). This indicates the location of a Turnpike toll road. The website 20th Century Fareham tells us that this was maintained by the "Gosport and Bishops Waltham, Wickham and Chawton Turnpike Trust", which was founded in 1758. The Toll Booth sat where the garage is now, charging for the use of both roads north:
We pass under the M27 motorway at Fareham Common. There are major roadworks underway here but we are not delayed.
Just beyond is the start of the development of Welbourne, a new town that will eventually have 6000 homes. At the moment it is largely a building site, and will obviously look very different in a few years' time:
In the village of Wickham, we pass under what looks suspiciously like an old railway bridge. This is probably a remnant of the Meon Valley Railway, which was opened in 1903 by the London & South Western Railway. Linking Fareham with Alton, it closely followed the route of the River Meon. It closed to passengers in 1955, and to freight 13 years later.
We cross the River Meon moments later. It's scarcely visible from this road, though less than 400 yards away along the river bank is Bridge Street, where a Grade-II listed road bridge is built across four arches. It dates from 1792 but just isn't quite visible from route 69.
Wickham Square is one of the largest village market squares surviving today in England, and is described by the Wickham History Society as "a fine example of 13th Century town planning". Eight hundred years later the houses round it still retain identically sized “burgage plots – big enough to keep a pig, poultry and grow vegetables on". Or perhaps to park a car, as parking seems to be at a premium given the number of cars parked in the Square:
We pass the villages of Shedfield, where archaeological studies suggest the land has been occupied continuously since the Mesolithic Period, and Waltham Chase, once a forest used for the hierarchy of Bishop's Waltham to hunt game. We leave the main Winchester Road to dig deeper into the residential areas.
ABOVE: Approaching 20 years of age, Stagecoach South 18504 (KX06 LYW), a Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400, heads along Forest Road in Waltham Chase.
The journey through these residential areas takes us to Swanmore, and the Parish Church of St Barnabus:
Swanmore was established in Victorian times to provide homes for workers employed in local brickworks, although it continued to thrive after the Brickworks closed.
We're now coming into Bishop's Waltham, a medieval market town at the midpoint of the major route between Winchester and Portsmouth.
There is another distinctive point for buses to serve the town. Visit Winchester tells us that the Millennium Clock stands where the former Market House building once stood.
The earliest reference to a market in Bishop’s Waltham is in Edward I’s reign (1272-1307), but no market was ever held in the Market House. In the early 18th Century, the House was used as a lock-up for petty crimes, but was demolished in 1841. The Millennium Clock, surmounted by a Bishop’s mitre, signifies the town’s links with the past and the Bishops of Winchester.
We get a glimpse of the High Street, which looks lively and vibrant, but the bus needs to go in a different direction, so we don't see much of it:
Back to the main road and we get a glimpse of the ruins of Bishop's Waltham Palace, a scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade-II* listed. The Bishops of Winchester held land here from Saxon times.
The Diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important in England. By AD 909, the domains of the Bishop of Winchester ran from the south coast to the south bank of the River Thames at Southwark, making it one of the largest as well as one of the richest sees in the land. The former extent of the Diocese of Winchester was reduced by the formation of new diocese in Southwark, Guildford and Portsmouth, but remains high in the rankings of bishops - fifth after the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London and Durham.
The first Bishop's Waltham Palace was built around 1135; rebuilt in 1158, and rebuilt again between 1378 & 1401. In the late 13th and 14th centuries, it was regularly used by the Bishops of Winchester as they travelled. It was a popular stop for Royalty. The palace was destroyed in 1644 after the English Civil War. After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, ownership of the ruins was returned to the bishops.
The next section of route is quite countrified:
I note that we have to climb into the village of Little Upham. We're close to Marwell Zoo now - always a lovely day out - and a few Sunday buses on route 69 call there. But we're now embarking on a run into Fair Oak.
Local historians believe that Fair Oak takes its name from a tree in the Square which was felled and replaced in February 1843. A fair took place under the tree in June every year until 1918.
We push through the more modern residential areas of the village:
It's at this point that we should be heading to Colden Common. The normal route is a U-shaped trek around the village, but on this occasion we will be staying on the main road.
It's a sizeable place - 3857 residents at the 2011 Census - and, once again, was the centre for a number of brick works in years gone by.
It's missing this out that probably puts us back on track timetable-wise. We're on schedule as we head through Twyford. The name Twyford refers to the "two fords" that cross the River Itchen. The village sits on the left bank of the River itself:
We're less than three miles from Winchester now and the territory is starting to change as we approach the city. We join the M3 motorway for a short stretch (about two-thirds of a mile):
And we are soon approaching journey's end as the Guildhall building in the City Centre comes into sight. Before we get there, though, we need to cross the City Bridge over the River Itchen.
This single arch stone bridge was built in 1813 and is Grade-I listed. An inscription on one of the piers suggests that the first crossing at this point was built by St Swithun between 852 and 863 AD. The crossing is also known as St Swithun or Soke Bridge and occupies a strategic position at the city's ancient crossing place (information: Historic England).
The pub on the riverside is called "The Bishop on the Bridge", and it is suggested that the Bishop in question is St Swithun, who was Bishop of Winchester from 852 to 863 AD. Swithun (c.800-863) is regarded as one of the saints to whom one should pray in the event of drought. And yes, it is the same St Swithun who is known for the proverb that suggests that, if it rains on 15 July, it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights. The proverb is sometimes attributed specifically to City Bridge.
And I have checked the spelling... Although Swithin appears in places, Swithun is much more prevalent.
We terminate, on time at 13:23, at the Guildhall on Broadway, alongside Abbey Gardens.
Winchester developed from the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from a fortified Iron Age settlement. It is believed that the area has been occupied since prehistoric times.
The Guildhall, Grade-II listed, dates back to 1871. The Gothic-style building of "Middle Pointed" style is currently in use as an events venue:
Opposite the Guildhall is the entrance to Winchester Bus Station - one to look at in more detail another day. (But soon - there's a proposal to close it.)
ABOVE: A Stagecoach South Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400 is just entering the Bus Station in Winchester.
And here, in the heart of Winchester, is where our journey ends. And what a delightful run it has been! The 69 is a lovely ride, with so much history to discover along the way - far more than I have been able to cover here. Best go and explore...