Dog-friendly Hotels Hampshire

Little Trout is a charming, comfortable, single-storey thatched annexe forming a wing of the owner’s main home which dates back to the 17th century and has an interesting past! Historians have said that it was formerly a drinking establishment, referred to as The Trout Inn, and it was also a tea room. In the late 19th century cricket bats were made and sold at The Trout (to the great W.G. Grace, amongst others) using the local Wallop willow which was considered perfect for the purpose. Some even maintain that the village name inspired the phrase about giving a cricket ball a ’jolly good wallop.’

Little Trout is nestled in the pretty village of Nether Wallop in Hampshire’s Test Valley. Consisting of Nether Wallop, Middle Wallop and Over Wallop, the Wallops are mentioned in the Domesday Book. In 1984, Stephen Pile, a writer for the Sunday Times who also wrote The Book of Heroic Failures, was apparently fed up of going all the way to Edinburgh to the Arts Festival, so asked his friends where else they could hold an event. Someone suggested Nether Wallop. From there, the Nether Wallop International Arts Festival was born and in 1984 a host of stars of the time came together in a tent on the village playing fields including Bill Wyman, Jessye Norman, Jenny Agutter and Sir Michael Hordern. Comedians such as Rik Mayall, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Peter Cook, Billy Connolly, Mel Smith and Rowan Atkinson all took part and this paved the way for the first Comic Relief.

The area is known for its lovely walks and excellent trout fishing. There is a footpath behind the cottage which is ideal for dog walks, and fishing can be found 3 miles away (by prior arrangement only). There is an historic church dating back to the Saxon era, a playing field and a village tennis court about ½ mile away. The area is also renowned for the BBC version of Miss Marple and the front porch of Little Trout was actually used as the village chemist’s shop in the episode ’Murder at the Vicarage.’

Little Trout is 12 miles from the cathedral cities of Salisbury to the west and Winchester to the east, and within easy driving distance of the New Forest National Park. Other places to visit include Stonehenge, Mottisfont Abbey, Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort, Hinton Ampner, The Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop, Highclere Castle, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Buckler’s Hard, Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium, Wilton House and Thruxton Circuit. Stockbridge is about 4 miles away with a selection of shops, eateries and inns. Shop 2 miles, pub and restaurant 1½ miles.