Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a large, mostly rural county in the eastern part of the West Country of southern England. Wiltshire features large areas of rolling chalk downland and grazing farmland, including Salisbury Plain, a large expanse of downland of which part is famously used as a training area by the British Army. For the visitor to the area, Wiltshire is probably most significant because it contains several important Neolithic period monuments, including the world famous stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury, and the former settlement of Old Sarum. The county also offers a selection of fascinating towns and villages, as well as embracing the southern parts of the picturesque Cotswolds region.

Cities, towns and villages

Cities

• 1 Salisbury — a small city, the second largest town in Wiltshire, with a splendid cathedral

Towns

• 2 Amesbury
• 3 Bradford on Avon
• 4 Chippenham – a fast growing community, the third largest town in Wiltshire
• 5 Corsham
• 6 Devizes – a bustling market town with a heady brew of heritage and shopping. Nearby Caen Hill Locks
• 7 Malmesbury – town known for its historic abbey, one of the few English houses with a continual history from the 7th century through to the Dissolution of the Monasteries
• 8 Marlborough
• 9 Melksham – the fifth largest town in Wiltshire
• 10 Royal Wootton Bassett
• 11 Swindon – if you look past its sheer ugliness, it offers exceptional industrial heritage and a festival for every occasion
• 12 Trowbridge – the county town and administrative centre, the fourth largest town in Wiltshire
• 13 Warminster
• 14 Westbury – home to one of England's most famous hillside white horses

Villages

• 15 Avebury — a village surrounded by the largest neolithic stone circle in Europe
• 16 Box — site of the famous Box Railway tunnel and home to musicians Peter Gabriel and Midge Ure
• 17 Bratton – site of Bratton Castle (or Camp) an Iron Age hill fort
• 18 Castle Combe (pronounced coom) – a small pretty village north west of Chippenham
• 19 Cricklade
• 20 Lacock – a village dating back to the 13^th century, owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust, site of Lacock Abbey and the William Fox-Talbot museum
• 21 Pewsey – a large village with a main line rail station
• 22 Wilton – a medium sized village to the west of Salisbury
• 23 Wroughton – a large village on the road between Swindon and Avebury

Other destinations

• 1 Stonehenge – the world's most well known prehistoric monument

Get in

By train

Great Western Railways serves the north of county (Chippenham, Swindon) to and from London Paddington, Bristol, Cardiff and Cornwall. South Western Railway serves destinations including Salisbury and Tisbury in the south on their line between Exeter and London Waterloo.

By car

The M4 serves Swindon and the north, while the A303 is the main trunk road further south, passing (controversially) right next to Stonehenge.

By plane

Wiltshire has no airports. The closest major options are probably Bristol, Southampton, and London Heathrow or Gatwick.

Get around

The train services listed in "Get In" link some of the bigger towns. Beyond that, like the rest of rural England, car is the best way of getting around, as public transport comes in the form of buses with generally limited coverage and low frequency, not to mention a confusing proliferation of operators. The Connecting Wiltshire website lists routes and timetables for those up for the challenge. A Wiltshire Day Rover, which covers all bus operators in the county (as well as routes to Bath, Frome, Southampton, and Oxford), costs £9, providing excellent value for longer trips.

See

Stourhead Grotto Cave

• Longleat is an Elizabeath stately home with a safari park near Warminster.
• Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial hill near Avebury, the tallest in Europe.
• 1 Stourhead, near Mere, BA12 6QD, ☏ +44 1747 841152, stourhead@nationaltrust.org.uk. Palladian stately home with 1,072 hectare (2,650 acre) landscape garden, particularly famous for colourful foliage in autumn. (updated Sep 2017)
• The White Horses of Wiltshire. White horses created by removing the grass on hills to reveal the white chalk underneath. Most are a few hundred years old. (updated May 2017)

Do

• Visit Savernake Forest near Marlborough.
• Visit the nationally important museums in Devizes and Salisbury to find out more about the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.
• Cricket: Wiltshire CCC play in the National Counties Cricket Championship, the tier formerly known as "Minor Counties" below the first class competitions. They don't have a permanent ground but play at half-a-dozen venues around the county.

Eat

Wiltshire is known for a traditional curing method known as the Wiltshire cure, which is used in the production of pork products such as ham and bacon. The term is a protected designation of origin (PDO) meaning that only ham and bacon produced in Wiltshire using the traditional curing method may be labelled as such.

Sleep

• 1 Howard's House, Teffont Evias SP3 5RJ, ☏ +44 1722 716392. Charming hotel hidden away in the Wiltshire countryside, and the food is outstanding. B&B double from £150. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Royal Oak, Swallowcliffe SP3 5PA, ☏ +44 1747 870211. Elegant modern small hotel within a pub, which is open daily 08:00-23:00. B&B double from £100. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury SP3 6PX, ☏ +44 1747 870385. Good small hotel out near Cranborne Chase, and the food is a delight. B&B double from £100. (updated Jun 2020)

Stay safe

Wiltshire is a relatively safe county, having fewer crimes per capita than almost any other. Swindon (and to a lesser extent Trowbridge) do have some social problems (especially "county lines" drug operations), and the towns can become a little loutish on a Friday or Saturday night, but most are unlikely to feel particularly at risk here, especially in the main areas tourists would visit.