Area Attractions

  • Our area is full of historical sights and beautiful scenery.

Area Attractions

There are numerous attractions in our area.  In fact, there are too many to list on our website. Here are but a few of our Historical Attractions that are world renown. In addition, there are several good pubs and restaurants within close proximity serving great food.  Theatres, riding, cycling, walking and golf facilities are all available locally.

           

                               

This ancient monument of huge stones solitarily standing on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England has captured imaginations for centuries. Theories about who built it have included the Druids, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Atlanteans. Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.

Investigations over the last 100 years have revealed that Stonehenge was built in several stages from 2800 - 1800 BC. It seems to have been designed to allow for observation of astronomical phenomena - summer and winter solstices, eclipses, and more. 

Wilton House, 460 year old home to the Earl of Pembroke, provides a fascinating insight into British history.
The House contains many splendid State rooms including the magnificent Double Cube room which houses the world famous collection of Van Dyck paintings. This room, among others, has offered film-makers the perfect setting for films such as, Sense and Sensibility, Mrs. Brown and most recently Pride & Prejudice.

Longleat Safari Park, star of the BBC's hugely popular "Animal Park" series, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year so come and join in the celebrations!

Discover some of the world's most magnificent animals in this first Safari Park outside of Africa… see how you measure up to a giraffe, watch out for the zebras crossing, wander amongst the wallabies in Wallaby Wood and be enthralled by the majestic lions and tigers!

Salisbury Cathedral, set in the elegant splendour of the Cathedral Close, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Britain. The nave, quire and chapels were built in one phase between 1220 and 1258, with the spire (the tallest in Britain (123m/404ft) added a generation later. The Cathedral also houses the best preserved of only 4 original surviving Magna Carta (1215 AD) and Europe's oldest working clock (1386 AD). There is a unique 13th century frieze of bible stories in the octagonal Chapter House. Boy and girl choristers sing daily services, continuing a tradition of worship that dates back nearly 800 years.
 

During the First World War a New Zealand Field Hospital was located in Codford. Very many Australian and New Zealand soldiers died during an influenza outbreak; they are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery adjacent to Church Lane. There is also an Australian Imperial Force Badge cut into the hillside nearby. Both sites are regularly visited by people from Australia and New Zealand.

 

Stonehenge is not the only ancient site in in this area.
Only 25 miles north of Stonehenge is the Avebury complex, argued to be the most impressive of all remaining prehistoric earthworks in Europe.  Without doubt, Avebury is the most impressive of all remaining pre-historic earthworks in Europe. While Stonehenge was dedicated to the worship of the sun and moon, Avebury seems to have been dedicated to more human themes. The strong sexual symbolism, in evidence in the way the triangular and columnar stones were paired together, in conjunction with the elaborate funeral celebrations, show us that the cycle of birth, life and death was very important in Neolithic times.