Wiltshire Accommodation:
Amesbury
Ashton Keynes
Avebury
Beanacre
Box
Bradford On Avon
Britford
Bromham
Calne
Castle Combe
Chippenham
Colerne
Corsham
Corton
Cricklade
Crudwell
Devizes
Froxfield
Grittleton
Highworth
Hindon
Holt
Horningsham
Kingsdown
Kington St Michael
Lacock
Landford
Leigh Delamere
Malmesbury
Marlborough
Melksham
Membury
Mere
Ogbourne St George
Pewsey
Salisbury
Steeple Ashton
Stourhead
Sutton Benger
Swindon
Tidworth
Tisbury
Trowbridge
Upton Lovell
Upton Scudamore
Warminster
Westbury
Wootton Bassett

Wiltshire

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Information

County Town: Trowbridge
Population: 428,380
Area: 3,476 sq km
Wiltshire Jobs
Wiltshire Tips Page
County Reviews
Rather interesting Wiltshire facts
Wiltshire weather
Visitor reports
Your opinion of Wiltshire
Famous Dates
Famous People
Food Legends:Wiltshire Bacon
Wiltshire Lardy Cake
Wiltshire Cheese
Urchfont Mustard
Folk Customs:
Grovely Rights
Potterne Christmas Mumming
The Druids
Haunted Britain:
The Key to the King’s Arms’ Mystery
Cultural Britain:
Lore & legend:
Eilmer the Eagle
The Moonrakers
Natural Britain:
Cotswold Hills
Cranborne Chase
North Wessex Downs
River Avon
River Kennet
Salisbury Plain
Silbury Hill
The Ridgeway
Vale of Pewsey

Events

January
Calne Model Railway Show
Pewsey Potato Day
Swindon Potato Day

February
Chippenham Pancake Race
Urchfont Potato Day

March
Colerne Amateur Operatic Society Spring Show
North Wiltshire Orchestra Spring Concert
Spring Open Day and Factory Sale!

April
Annual Spring Working
Chippenham Beer Festival
Chirton Concerts
Trainwest Model Railway Exhibition

May
Chippenham Folk Festival
Downton Cuckoo Fair
Grovely Rights
Lacock Village Spring Plant Fair
Melksham Spring Festival
Pewsey Vale Arts Walk
Real Ale Weekend
Salisbury International Art Festival
Salisbury International Arts Festival
Sarsen Trail
Swindon Festival of Literature
Walk of Life
Winship's Medieval Jousting Tournament
Wylye Valley Art Trail

June
Beer and Food Festival
Bishops Cannings Parish Festival
Bowood Country Fair & Dog Show
Chirton Summer Fete
Corsham Festival
Cricklade Town Festival
Devizes Festival
East Tytherley Country Fayre
Salisbury International Art Festival
Salisbury International Arts Festival
Village Open Gardens & Garden Market
Vintage Nostalgia Show
Wylye Valley Art Trail

July
Annual Classic Vehicle Show
Barbury International Horse Trials
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Fireworks Proms
Calne Country Music Festival
Chippenham Dragon Boat Race
Devizes Beer Festival
Heddington & Stockley Steam Rally and Country Fair
High Street Festival
Hilmarton Taditional Summer Fair and Food Festival
Jazz at the Greathouse
Lacock Proms
Marlborough Jazz Festival
Model Railway Weekend
North Wiltshire Festival
Rowdy Fest
Salisbury Show
Shakespeare Live
Sherston Boules & Carnival
West Wilts Show
WOMAD

August
Annual Horticultural Show
Classic Car & Bike Show with Auto Jumble.
Field View Festival
Giffords Circus
Hamptworth Country Fayre and Companion Show
Minifest
Opera at Lacock Abbey
Panic Fest
Pewsey Music Festival
Produce and Craft Show
UB40 at Bowood House
Vintage Transport Weekend

September
Chirton Village Car Boot Sale & BBQ
Corsham Jazz Festival
Devizes Carnival
Feast of Wiltshire
Fringe BOA
Heritage Open Days
Malmesbury Jazz Festival
Salisbury Food & Drink Festival
St Laurence Street Party
Swindon & Cricklade Railway Wartime Weekend
Swindon Garden Show
The Emergency Service Show
Waveform
Wessex Bike Ride Open Event

October
Calne Music & arts Festival
Ethandune Ale and Cider Festival
Exhibition of Contemporary Artists
Feast of Food
Marlborough Apple Day
Sherston Mangold Hurl
Wroughton Christmas Show

November
Christmas Mince Pie Gift Fayre
Festival of Christmas
Greathouse Christmas Bazaar
Jewellery, Beads and Findings Fair
Salisbury Christmas Market
Swindon Film Festival
The Commonweal School Christmas Craft Market

December
Bowood House Christmas Extravaganza
Festival of Christmas
Salisbury Christmas Market
Santa Fun Run

Wiltshire - 313 places to stay

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Major towns: Salisbury, Swindon, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Devizes

The landlocked county of Wiltshire is set in some of the most beautiful and unspoilt rural territory in England. It has a long history in both human and natural history terms. The name Wiltshire is taken from its original county town Wilton (the county originally being known as Wiltonshire).

Wiltshire has been a rich hunting ground for archaeologists, with findings from settlements made by Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples. In Avebury and Stonehenge , Wiltshire possesses two of the most famous Neolithic sites in the United Kingdom if not the world. Of the two sites Avebury is considerably the larger, consisting of a very large stone circle with two smaller ones contained within. It is the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world and also at the site is a huge man made ditch which is believed to predate the stones. Many of the stones have been removed, particularly in medieval times for building or fear of the pagan rituals that may once have taken place on the site. Today the site is probably considered more important than Stonehenge by many followers of the faiths of Paganism, Wicca, Druidry and Heathenry. The summer solstice is drawing increasingly larger and larger crowds to Avebury. Stonehenge is, of course, better known to the tourists. The impressive stone monument dates from around 2500BC and has always been a major draw for visitors. The circular earth bank and ditch are believed to date from around 3100BC. Indeed evidence uncovered during excavations has shown that the site was constructed in numerous phases, spanning at least 3,000 years. In more modern times Stonehenge has been the site of a very famous music festival. It has also been the site of neo-druidic rituals, with recreated druidic practices having taken place at the summer solstice since about 1905. These druidic rituals date from the Iron Age, so are far removed from the original rituals that would have taken place from much earlier cultures. Over sixty percent of the land in Wiltshire is chalk based. This has led to the creation of another famous landmark, the Cherhill White Horse, on a hillside visible from the village of Cherhill. Although a small county, Wiltshire offers much to the visitor. The beautiful city of Salisbury is the only city in Wiltshire and it attracts large numbers of tourists each year, many of whom will also visit nearby Stonehenge. Salisbury Cathedral is a local landmark visible from some distance as you approach the city. In 2008 it celebrated the 750th anniversary of its dedication. Many events were organised for this celebration. Salisbury is also part of Wiltshire's contribution to Hardy Country , known as Melchester in Hardy's novels. The town of Bradford on Avon is another popular spot in Wiltshire. It has many attractions for the large number of tourists that visit each year. These include canals, shops and historic buildings. The town is Roman in origin and contains many 17th century buildings dating from the time when the growth of the town was fuelled by the wool industry. Swindon is one of the few really urban areas of Wiltshire and also provides the only professional football team in the county. Wilton, the former county town of Wiltshire was also very important in terms of the whole kingdom of Wessex and is known to have been the capital of a section of the kingdom of Wessex. Although somewhat overshadowed by its near neighbour Salisbury, Wilton still attracts many visitors, especially to its major attraction Wilton House . Originally an Anglo Saxon town, Wilton and the surrounding areas were the scene of many important and decisive battles between King Alfred and the Danes. It is also famous for its carpets which are a product of the wool that once dominated the county economy. Longleat is another of Wiltshire's very famous attractions. The magnificent Longleat House and Longleat Safari Park, famous for the Lions of Longleat, have been attracting numerous visitors for many years. Longleat featured on the popular BBC television programme Animal Park. Home to the eccentric 7th Marquess of Bath, Longleat House is considered to be one of the finest examples of High Elizabethan architecture left in Britain. The Safari Park houses a huge variety of animals from large to small and was the first drive through Safari Park outside of Africa.

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Brit Quote:
The trouble with orgies is that you have to spend so much time holding your stomach in - Sir John Mortimer
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On this day:
Tolpuddle Martyrs Sentenced - 1834, Argentine Forces land on South Georgia - 1982
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