Historic sites and architecturally gorgeous buildings make for a long list of 'bucket list' places in Wiltshire, where there are so many holiday cottages in hat you will be spoilt for lovely places to stay. Start with Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral and work your way down the list. There can be no-one in the world who could not recognize a sighting of the pre-historic site of Stonehenge. Be there before sunrise on June 21st and watch the sun tip over the Helstone in the centre.
In Swindon, Head for the magnificent award-winning Great Western Railway museum 'Steam'. It'll charm and intrigue all the family - not just steam lovers (and then adjourn to the nearby McArthur Glen Shopping Outlet for some serious retail therapy)! The picturesque High Street in Marlborough offers a collection of tea rooms, old coaching inns, restaurants, boutiques and antique shops to fill a day at any time of year.
40% off
9th Apr-31st May
Hidden Valley is a beautiful, large family house with a heated outdoor pool in a secluded rural location near the village of Box between Bath and Chippenham. Sleeping 16 guests, the house is set in 8 acres. Recently fully refurbished, it offers a luxury, pet-friendly holiday home. Pets welcome.
Salisbury Cathedral has all the beauty of the Early English period, together with the tallest spire in England (404 ft.) soaring from the water-meadows surrounding it. Walk - or picnic - amongst The Standing Stones at Avebury, even older than Stonehenge. After this, Stourhead, with its Pantheon on the bank of the lake, and Bowood House both display fine 18th-century landscaping created by the most famous gardener at that time, Capability Brown.
Wilton House, the backdrop of several Jane Austen films, and the Oscar-nominated "Mrs Brown" stands by the clear waters of the River Wylie which are channelled to the lovely water-gardens. Other houses and gardens worth visiting include Lydeard House near Swindon, the rose and herb gardens and the Benedictine Abbey House Garden in Malmesbury, Ilford Manor with its Italian Peto Garden.
