Visit Wiltshire Visitor Guide 2023

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Spring at Stourhead
A County for all Seasons
What view did you wake up to this morning?
Newborn lambs taking their first unsteady steps?
Scarlet poppies nodding amid fields of golden corn?
Blankets of mist floating low over meadows? Mighty
standing stones sparkling with frost? In Wiltshire
you can enjoy all these sights, and more...
Summer is traditionally a lovely time of year to visit Wiltshire.
With luck, it brings long, lazy days filled with sunshine, perfect
for outdoor pursuits. Try a spot of cycling or horse riding.
Tour a stately home or a landscape garden. Pack a picnic and
head for the hills. Every year, thousands gather to observe
the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge or Avebury, watching
transfixed as the sun rises above the horizon on the longest
day, bathing the stones in the first light of dawn. Throughout
June, July and August the festival season in full swing, and warm
evenings invite you to book tickets for open-air theatre and other
outdoor events.
But the summer months are not the only time to enjoy a holiday
or short break here. Once the harvest has been safely gathered,
autumn is in the air. During the autumn you’ll find plenty to keep
you busy with celebrations for Halloween, firework displays
and gardens and landscapes in all their glory with their autumn
colours that turns the Wiltshire landscape a dazzling mix of
red and gold. To see autumnal colours in all their glory, head to
Stourhead, Bowood and Longleat, the Savernake Forest or the
New Forest National Park. According to folklore, catch a falling
leaf and it will bring you good luck... that’s got to be worth a try!
The run up to Christmas can be a hectic time, but a short
break in Wiltshire will lift your spirits and help you get into festive
mood. Take time to walk through a Wiltshire winter wonderland
as an array of winter light trails arrive in the county. To keep the
cold at bay, cosy up with friends or family in a traditional
Wiltshire pub. Sip mulled wine by an open fire. Tuck into hearty,
rib-sticking dishes. Then go late night shopping in one of our
charming market towns and solve all your present dilemmas
at one fell swoop.
After you’ve welcomed in the New Year, where better to walk off
any over indulgence than Wiltshire’s breathtaking countryside.
Almost half the county falls within an Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty and even – or perhaps especially – when dusted
with snow, it’s the perfect place to blow those cobwebs away. So
wrap up warm, put your best foot forward and stride out across
the frozen landscape. For a cheering sight in the depths of winter,
Lacock Abbey and Lydiard Park are renowned for their dramatic
displays of snowdrops.
Eventually, winter gives way to spring. The days grow longer
and there’s less of a nip in the air. Drifts of golden daffodils help
to raise the spirits. Verges are dotted with clusters of primrose
and celandine. Hedgerows turn green as leaves unfurl, and
hibernating hedgehogs wake. If you know where to look (and the
answers are given in these pages) you can find ancient woodland
carpeted with bluebells. Lowland pasture covered in rare
Snakeshead fritillaries. Nature in all its glory.
Wiltshire gives you space and time. To enjoy nature’s bounty.
To appreciate the simpler things in life. It’s the perfect place to
celebrate the changing of the seasons and every time of year
brings its own rewards. So why not plan your own escape to the
country this year?
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