Attractions and Places To See in Wiltshire - Top 20

Stonehenge

Highlight • Historical Site

Stonehenge is without a doubt one of the most famous sites in the world. Visitors can enjoy a visitor-centre with exhibitions, five Neolithic houses, a shop and a café. Opening hours and fees found here: english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/prices-and-opening-times?lang=en

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Get recommendations on the best single tracks, peaks, & plenty of other exciting outdoor places.

Kennet and Avon Canal Towpath — Dundas Aqueduct to Avoncliff

Highlight (Segment) • Cycleway

Very beautiful section of the GB National Cycle Route 4 along the old canal that was used to transport coal to London. Very well developed on the old towpath. The highlight is the aqueduct at Dundas Wharf. Then of course on to Bath.

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Avebury Stone Circle

Highlight • Monument

Avebury is an extraordinary place in the North Wiltshire & Wessex Downs AONB. One of many Neolithic sites in the area, this stone circle is large enough to encircle part of the village.

Many of the stones have names and myths attached to them and there were 100 when it was first built between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. In the vicinity lies West Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill (a prehistoric fort) and numerous other standing stones and long barrows. Stonehenge lies to the south near Amesbury; a more famous but smaller circle in diameter.

You can visit Avebury's stone circle for free and there are plenty of footpaths passing through which will take you to the other nearby remnants of prehistory.

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Salisbury Cathedral

Highlight • Religious Site

Salisbury Cathedral can be seen for miles around and is the elaborate heart of this small and beautiful city. Renowned for its English Gothic architecture, the cathedral dates back to the 1200s and has the tallest church spire in the UK. Not only that, the cloisters and close are the largest in Britain.

Think that’s enough? Not for Salisbury. The cathedral is home to the most well-preserved of four copies of the Magna Carta and has a verge and foliot clock, one of the oldest working clocks in the world. The subject of several John Constable paintings, it’s a beautiful sight and surrounded by stunning historic buildings.

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Caen Hill Locks

Highlight • Viewpoint

An impressive set of 29 locks cross the canal one after the other between Rowde and Devizes on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Engineered by John Rennie in the 18th century to allow boats to climb the steep hill, the locks take around 5 hours to pass by boat.

As thousands of trees were planted around the locks to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, you’ll also find beautiful nature and wildlife here.

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Castle Combe Village

Highlight • Settlement

Castle Combe is often hailed as the ‘prettiest village in England.' Situated within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the quintessentially English village has regularly been used as a filming location in movies. The village boasts 13th-century architecture and places to grab a tasty treat.

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Avoncliff Aqueduct

Highlight • Monument

One of the most impressive structures on Britain's waterways, the Avoncliff Aqueduct at over 100 metres long and 18 metres wide, carries the Kennet & Avon Canal over the River Avon.

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Avebury Village

Highlight • Settlement

Avebury lies about 10 miles (16 km) south of Swindon and is a massive prehistoric site with open access to Stone Circles. The main Great Circle is surrounded by a deep man-made trench creating a mound which is nearly a mile round.

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Sarsen Stone at Stonehenge Visitor Centre

Highlight • Monument

Sarsen stones are blocks of sandstone found in large numbers in England, it is a contraction of Saracen stone, where “Saracenic” is equivalent to “pagan”. In this respect, sarsen means something like “heathen stone”, “stone of the heathen”. The most famous sarsen stones can be found here in Stonehenge.

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