The Old Vicarage Certificated Location

There’s much to see in this pretty corner of Wiltshire: the National Trust-owned village of Lacock (10 minutes’ drive) is home of an abbey used as a location for the Harry Potter franchise, the Fox Talbot Museum of photography and indie jewellery shops and art galleries – not forgetting two pubs dating from the 14th century. Head for the boutiques of Bath (45 minutes) for a shopping spree, and if you’re visiting in December, Whitehall Garden Centre (10 minutes) is renowned locally for the extravagance of its Christmas displays. The lively market town of Devizes (15 minutes) offers up Wadworth Brewery to tour and Shire horses (who still deliver beer on traditional dreys) to meet in their stables. The Wiltshire Museum showcases priceless finds from excavations at Stonehenge (35 minutes), and close by is the Thomas Telford-built Caen Hill flight (10 minutes) of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Standing on the same canal, Bradford-on-Avon (15 minutes) is known for its medieval tithe barn, Georgian architecture and the 17th-century bridge spanning the River Avon. Petrol heads can get their fix at Castle Combe Circuit (25 minutes), while leafy Bowood Estate (10 minutes) is home to an international golf course, a kids’ adventure playground and festivals throughout the year. If you’re visiting in spring, there’s an impressive display of flowering rhododendrons to see as well.