Activities & Places to visit whilst staying at Willowbank Lodges
With its many picturesque villages and market towns this ancient county of Wiltshire offers something for everyone. There is a huge variety of activities – great walking and cycling routes, action-packed attractions such as Castle Coombe Circuit or Longleat and a range of historic houses, gardens and fascinating museums.
Wiltshire and the surrounding area boast many great restaurants, pubs, and cafes.
There are musical events too which take place in local pubs, churches and village halls. In July, Marlborough holds its famous International Jazz Festival over three days – a glut of musicians and singers, new bands and old favourites from all over the world, really an experience not to miss. There are other nearby venues for musical events such as Westonbirt Arboretum where, for example, Will Young, Madness and Alphie Boe played in June and July this year, Highclere Castle (location of the BBC’s ‘Downton Abbey’) which has summer picnic concerts and fireworks displays. Local artists open their studios over four weekends in July and there are always local village fetes to be enjoyed throughout most of the summer. There really is something for everyone to enjoy in this part of the world. Listed below are a few websites you may like to view to give you a few ideas.
Local Activities
From Willlowbank’s gates we have marvellous walks without having to cross a main road. The local lanes are so quiet you can walk and cycle with little disturbance and of course we have the famous Kennet and Avon canal within 100m of the cabins, so convenient for those kayaking enthusiasts. From Milkhouse Water bridge you can walk or cycle along the canal path to Wootton Rivers (with nice traditional village pub, The Royal Oak) and beyond towards the Savernake Forest and Hungerford or in the opposite direction to Pewsey Wharf (mooring place for lots of colourful canal boats) where the popular Waterfront Pub can be found with its garden overlooking the canal and restaurant, Bistro by the Bridge. Further on will lead you to Wilcot and Devizes where the amazing Caen Locks can be found. We have our local wetlands sanctuary, Jones’s Mill, about half a mile away or walk up the lane and follow the steep footpath to the top of Martinsell Hill, one of seven 6th century iron-age hill forts surrounding the Pewsey Vale (pictured above, view from the canal) where on a clear day you can see Salisbury Cathedral’s spire and is a marvellous place for flying kites or tobogganing in the snow.
We are very privileged to be living in an area steeped in tradition and history, with three World Heritage sites within an easy driving distance (Stonehenge, Avebury and Bath). We have many delightful towns and villages to explore, country houses, museums and gardens to visit and plenty of traditional pubs and excellent restaurants. We have a quick rail link to London from Pewsey Station less than five minutes drive away and you could plan a day/evening out in London to enjoy the sites and take in a theatre. Oxford, Salisbury and Bath are also within a reasonable drive away and offer good shopping, restaurants, theatres and interesting places to visit.