Why visit Wiltshire?
Discover the medieval village of Lacock
Chances are you may well recognise Lacock, as it has featured in many TV series and international films like the Harry Potter franchise – the interior of Lacock Abbey had a starring role as Hogwarts School. As well as half-timbered cottages and Georgian mansions, the village has a number of indie shops selling jewellery and several traditional pubs, plus photography displays at the Fox Talbot Museum.
Go on safari at Longleat
Making an entertaining day out for families, Longleat has tigers, lions, giraffes and wolves for you to see and photograph on its famed Safari Drive. But that’s only the start of the fun: kids will most likely enjoy meerkat and penguin encounters, cuddling koalas and spotting endangered red pandas. There’s a hedge maze to get lost in, boat trips out to Gorilla Island, and giant otters to watch in their underwater viewing enclosure.
Spot the White Horses
There are eight white horses carved into chalk downs in Wiltshire. They are all free to visit – mostly involving short but steep hikes. The original horse sits in Pewsey Vale and was cut in 1785; it was replaced in the 1930s by a new design to commemorate the coronation of King George VI. Devizes White Horse, set on Roundway Hill, is the most recent addition, created to celebrate the turn of the 21st century.
Walk to Caen Hill Locks
Linking Reading with Bath, Kennet and Avon Canal is dotted with pretty waterside pubs and cafés, making for pleasant and gentle walking through Wiltshire countryside. It was constructed over 16 years and completed in 1810 to a design by engineer John Rennie; his masterpiece was Caen Hill Locks, between Melksham and Devizes, which consists of a flight of 29 locks rising 237 feet uphill over two miles.
Essential things to do in Wiltshire
• Travel around 5,000 years back in time to Stonehenge, with its world-famous circle of standing stones and displays of artefacts found at the site in its award-winning visitor centre
• Explore the landscaped gardens at Bowood House, a Georgian masterpiece that's also got a fine collection of costumes, watercolours and Victorian jewellery in its ornate interior
• Visit the 17th-century Merchant's House in Marlborough, decorated in period style with four-poster beds in the sleeping chambers and original utensils displayed in the kitchen
• Discover the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world at Avebury, where you can wander freely among neolithic megaliths, stone avenues and ancient tombs
Unusual things to do in Wiltshire
Meet the Wadworth Shire Horses
Brewing in Devizes since 1875, Wadworth is famed across the south west for its 6X beers. These days you can tour the town’s landmark red-brick brewery, taste the ales and meet the handsome Shire horses who still deliver beer to Devizes pubs as they have done for 125 years. The ‘Waddies’ heavy horses are also on parade outside the brewery shop on Wednesday and Thursday mornings in spring and summer.
Visit Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn
An enormous and well-restored building with an almost-church-like stone exterior, Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn was constructed in the 14th century. It is 33 feet wide and 168 feet long, with an ornate timber cruck-frame supporting the roof. Once part of Shaftesbury Abbey, the barn was used to store ‘tithes’ or taxes from local farmers, in the form of a portion of their crops.
Explore West Kennet Long Barrow
Built somewhere around 3650 BC, West Kennet Long Barrow is one of the largest Neolithic tombs in the UK. Often overlooked in favour of Stonehenge or Avebury, the hilltop site is accessed by a short flight of steps, and you are free to wander inside. The bodies of up to 50 people have been discovered among the vast stone chambers, along with pottery, beads and Stone Age tools.
Here’s how
If this is the destination for you, all that remains is for you to decide what sort of Wiltshire campsite would suit you. It doesn't all have to be about bringing a tent, either – if you’re travelling with family, you may like to think about booking a spacious yurt, or if you’re looking for a romantic break, consider a stylish and cosy gypsy caravan.
Whatever you’re looking for, the Pitchup tick-box filters will help you to narrow down your choices and find the Wiltshire campsite that’s a good fit for you. If you’re not sure where to start, browse some of our most popular Wiltshire campsite collections.
Family-friendly campsites in Wiltshire
Dog-friendly Wiltshire campsites
Wiltshire campsites with electric hookup
Looking to head further south west? Take a look at our campsites in Devon and Cornwall, or head to neighbouring Dorset.
