Wiltshire Travel Forum

We're hopefully off to Wiltshire in spring and therefore I have a few questions. We plan to base ourselves in Salisbury for a few days and we rely on public transport only:

1) What is there to do for children in the area (apart from Longleat which I've seen that we could reach by train/taxi). Any child friendly pubs (preferrably with local ale/cider)?

2) Is Wilton interesting even to those of us not planning to buy a carpet? Are there any other picturesque old villages easy to reach?

3) Is it possible to combine Stonehenge and Avebury in one day by bus, and where would you then spend most time/how would you plan it?

I would definitely plan on spending more time at Avebury than Stonehenge. It's far more interesting and you can walk among the stones unlike the more popular destination. I've got some photos of it one of my pages. I don't know that area all too well, but there will be lots of pubs and villages wherever you head.

These days most pubs are child/family friendly. A lot of them rely on the food sales for their profits, so meals, coffee etc for families is important to them.

Thanks, that's what I thought then - about Avebury. As for villages, yes I assume there are plenty but since I'll travel by bus I need to know some nice ones in advance to check that I can reach them.

I know that thankfully more pubs accept children these days but it is still nice to get tips on the really nice ones doing so. For instance CAMRA pubs aren't necessarily child friendly whilst they have the sort of brew her parents might enjoy. :)

Many UK pubs have a garden area outside where people can sit and eat in good weather. I notice that families often choose that rather than sit with the kids in a confined space. Andover's a nice town, but I'm not sure how close that is to where you'll be. My husband lived there a short time as a kid and we drove through not too long ago. There are some nice villages around Devizes and if you can get to Lacock - that's very special and also has a National Trust property that's beautiful.

Not sure where you are coming from, or why the choice of Salisbury for a base, but I would definitely try and do a day trip to Bath if you can. There's a direct train from Salisbury, and lots to see.

When I was at Salisbury cathedral they had a special tour for children. I read the leaflet and found it very well done. My children would have loved to do this tour when they were younger.

Allow most time for Avebury (Stonehenge won't take you more than an hour or so, unless you want a long walk in the surrounding countryside.......might be worth it with kids); excellent museums at Avebury and lots of space for kids to walk and explore. My pages have info.

You will need to get a bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge, then another bus (probably changing at Amesbury) to get to avebury, then another again to return to Salisbury. Best check with Salisbury Tourist Information when you are there, as timetables vary over the year.

Devizes has a good (old-fashioned) museum, Andover has an excellent child-friendly Iron Age museum.

There's a rare breeds farm not far from Stonehenge: www.rabbitworld.co.uk
Steam trains near Swindon: www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org
Working farm 'park' near Salisbury: www.farmergiles.co.uk

www.visitwiltshire.co.uk has more info.

Enjoy your visit!

Agree with all above about Avebury. Very near to Avebury is the start of the Rideway Path which is a long footpath, and obviously not this for this holiday, but the very first part offers a lovely walk across the extraordinary downs of the area. Silbury Hill and West Kennet longbarrow are nearby and well worth a look.

Stourhead gardens (and house) in Wiltshire are some of the loveliest I've been to. I have got something about them on one of my pages, http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ac7c/4c4a3/4/ (is actually my Glastonbury pages, re 'using Glastonbury as a base tip'). I belive there ae bus tris from sailisbury but I haven't checked this out; let me know if you need more info.

Agree with all above about Avebury. Very near to Avebury is the start of the Rideway Path which is a long footpath, and obviously not this for this holiday, but the very first part offers a lovely walk across the extraordinary downs of the area. Silbury Hill and West Kennet longbarrow are nearby and well worth a look.

Stourhead gardens (and house) in Wiltshire are some of the loveliest I've been to. I have got something about them on one of my pages, http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/7ac7c/4c4a3/4/ (is actually my Glastonbury pages, re 'using Glastonbury as a base tip'). I belive there ae bus tris from sailisbury but I haven't checked this out; let me know if you need more info.

Hannah, the reason for chosing Salisbury is that none of us have been to Stonehenge-Avebury or the city itself. We have however been to both Bath and Glastonbury (both lovely and we'd gladly go back). Since we're travelling in early spring, Cornwall will have to be left for another time and coming by ferry to Harwich this time, we wanted to stay in the south (which we haven't seen as much of as hubby ("kitan") is from Yorkshire.

Christine, I've definately got to check out if the cathedral still has childrens' tours!

Is Stourhead still attractive in early April you think Spincat?

Thanks for the links leics. What time might lambing season be in Wiltshire (seeing as Farmer Giles has bottle feeding)? In Yorkshire it's not that early but it could be OK I guess.

I'm going to have to read up on your pages in the coming weeks :)

We first went in early march and it was really lovely - the garden has been designed to look wonderful at all times of year. April can a wonderful time for gardens with all the spring bulbs.

Ah........lambs.

Well, you can 'arrange' your lambs to suit (it all depends when you let the rams run with the ewes). Lambing starts straight after Christmas in some places, though fell/mountain sheep (as in Yorks) lamb much later because of the weather. I'd expect lambs in Wiltshire from February onwards (they are around here in the E. Midlands from then on), especially somewhere which advertises bottle-feeding. Maybe an email to Farmer Giles himself might be in order? :-)

Thanks you two! :) Yes I'm used to the fell lambing season indeed so I just know it must be earlier in Wiltshire.

I've meanwhile found a bus that runs via both Stonehenge and Avebury! :) Seems like we'd start in Stonehenge and then spend the rest of the day in Avebury.

check bruton (my home town) childrens activity centre, mill on the brue.

will think of some more. bruton is on rail network

Near Avebury is Marlborough which has several good teashops and an unusual and attractive high st. a lot of local buses go through there.

Marlborough is a pleasant town, and the Savernake forest is very near; bet there's a local bus which would drop you near enough to walk in it (some superbly huge and old trees right at the edge of the A346, as I recall.

check english heritage for events, they quite often have battle re-enactments at old sarum.
lots of iron age things to see in area, but not sure about public transport. Dorchester is accessible, had a famous dinosaur museum, which is to my eyes a bit expensive and amateur, but my kids likes it. Not so far from there is maiden castle. great place to fly a kite to.

some excellent places for collecting fossils on the coast, charmouth especially where they have guided wlaks and you can hire or buy hammers/ chisels etc. again my kids love it

also
http://www.at-bristol.org.uk/

@bristol.
more than one days worth of stuff, and its brill

wells
cheddar
glastonbury

Keith, I thought your home was in Hull? :)))

As said earlier, we've already been to Bath, Wells and Glastonbury (planned Cheddar too but got sick on that last day). During that trip, we also visited At Bristol.

Thanks for the National Heritage tip. I always forget to plan what they are doing and end up missing stuff in the Yorkshire castles too!

Spincat, I saw that the Avebury bus goes through Marlborough too. Maybe I should split it to Stonehenge one day and those two on another. Thoughts, thoughts...:)

I found marlborough a bit boring.

I live in hull now, but was brought up in bruton (til 18) then london, then manchester then south yorks. only moved to hull recently

It is a bit boring but I often find I end up there if busing it in the region - seems to be a lot of buses connect there. The teashops are good though and is pretty

I see on tourist sites that the Avebury to Marlborough buses pass Silbury Hill. Does this mean it is easy to reach from a bus stop or just "possible". I know it's visible from the road but does that mean there is a bus stop nearby? Or would you walk from Avebury even?

No info on Wilton House? Does anyone know if it is far from Wilton itself? On their homepage I see they have an adventure playground and sometimes family quizzes during walks through the grounds so it looks like it could be an interesting day out for all.

Hi
You see it very clearly from the road, and I am pretty sure there is a bus stop near it. When I went last time I was put down near it (but this was some years ago) though the first time I went all the way to Avebury and walked back - think it took 20 minutes.

all you can do at silbury is look fro a distance but WEST kennet long barrow, which is just down the road, (and I am pretty sure has a bus stop) is lovely, very atmospheric. Anundshög kinda reminded me ... (but its much older I guess)

stourhead is lovely all year, spring is almost best, bulbs are followed by azaleas and rhododendrons. the kids love to hide in the secret grottoes.

there is also alfreds tower in the woods beyond. you can climb up when its open. (obviously you will want to celebrate alfreds dereat of the viking invaders)

You can go right to the base of Silbury Hill, and wander round it (there's a car park.......) but climbing it is no longer allowed due to erosion. It's almost directly opposite the footpath to West Kennet (10 mins walk across fields, and absolutely essential imo). The bus will stop nearby (am almost certain there's a stop in W Kennet village) but do take care on the road; people belt along it, and its fairly busy.

Try to do both places if time allows, en route from Stonehenge to Avebury.

There are no local bus services that cover both Stonehenge and Avebury (are you confusing Amesbury with Avebury ?)

You will need to take bus number 3 from Salisbury to Stonehenge, spend 40 mins (or 1 hour 40 mins) admiring the stones from a distance, then take bus number 3 back to Amesbury and transfer to the "Swindon" bus number 5 which will take you to Marlborough and Avebury. All of these services run hourly, but watch out for the 2-hour gap in the number 5 timetable in the afternoon when the bus disappears at Marlborough to do a school run ! You can find some of the timetables at www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/ttNorthern/index-n.asp

The bus also goes near Silbury Hill and Kennet Long Barrow but remember that if you get off here it may be a long time before the next bus comes along to take you to Avebury. As you are relying on public transport and have children in tow, I would suggest that you miss out those two places and head straight to Avebury.

If you decide to do this trip, remember to ask the driver of bus number 3 for a family explorer ticket (£13 I think) as this can be used to travel on all these buses.

How old are the children ? If they are primary age, they might be interested in the Famer Giles Homestead at Teffont (see www.farmergiles.co.uk) - bus 25 goes there every 2 hours but try to do this in the morning as again there is a big gap in the timetable in the afternoon around about school chucking out time !

Wilton Carpet Factory is opposite Wilton House and I believe is now more of a Factory outlet shopping village than a factory. However, I doubt there will be much there to interest the kids, who may prefer a trip down to Bournemouth or Weymouth instead !

Finally, if you need to get hold of public transport information for Wiltshire to plan your visit, send an email with your address on it to the County Council's transport departmemt buses@wiltshire.gov.uk and they will post you out the relevant bus timetable leaflets and maps before you leave.

There are no local bus services that cover both Stonehenge and Avebury (are you confusing Amesbury with Avebury ?)

You will need to take bus number 3 from Salisbury to Stonehenge, spend 40 mins (or 1 hour 40 mins) admiring the stones from a distance, then take bus number 3 back to Amesbury and transfer to the "Swindon" bus number 5 which will take you to Marlborough and Avebury. All of these services run hourly, but watch out for the 2-hour gap in the number 5 timetable in the afternoon when the bus disappears at Marlborough to do a school run ! You can find some of the timetables at www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/ttNorthern/index-n.asp

The bus also goes near Silbury Hill and Kennet Long Barrow but remember that if you get off here it may be a long time before the next bus comes along to take you to Avebury. As you are relying on public transport and have children in tow, I would suggest that you miss out those two places and head straight to Avebury.

If you decide to do this trip, remember to ask the driver of bus number 3 for a family explorer ticket (£13 I think) as this can be used to travel on all these buses.

How old are the children ? If they are primary age, they might be interested in the Famer Giles Homestead at Teffont (see www.farmergiles.co.uk) - bus 25 goes there every 2 hours but try to do this in the morning as again there is a big gap in the timetable in the afternoon around about school chucking out time !

Wilton Carpet Factory is opposite Wilton House and I believe is now more of a Factory outlet shopping village than a factory. However, I doubt there will be much there to interest the kids, who may prefer a trip down to Bournemouth or Weymouth instead !

Finally, if you need to get hold of public transport information for Wiltshire to plan your visit, send an email with your address on it to the County Council's transport departmemt buses@wiltshire.gov.uk and they will post you out the relevant bus timetable leaflets and maps before you leave.

Phil, first of all thanks for your input (our daughter is eight). That carpet outlet is not a goal but how about Wilton House - its homepage suggests an adventure playground?

Secondly, this is the bus I meant which seems to take in Avebury AND Stonehenge:

http://www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/ttNorthern/N_5-6.pdf