Go West To Wiltshire For Some Late Summer Fun

If you want to plan a group trip and hire a bus to take your crew on some fantastic days out, there are some great options within easy reach of Oxford. But all too often people will take the easy option of heading for the sights and sounds of London.

That may be great in winter or for specific events, but while it is summer there is a great opportunity to make the most of the longer and lighter days by getting outdoors more and appreciating everything the countryside has to offer.

Of course, to some, the idea of the great outdoors involves wild adventures up a mountain or camping miles from anywhere, which is fun for some but certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. But there are places where there are loads of much more accessible outdoor attractions and Wiltshire surely tops the list.

As a neighbouring county, you can get your travel party there and back in a day and still have loads of time to see different things on the plain, by the river and up the hill.

If These Stones Could Speak

The most famous attraction of the county is, of course, Stonehenge. Still a UNESCO World Heritage site despite the body warning it might reconsider this if a proposed road tunnel nearby goes ahead, there can be few better times to visit than late summer.

It may be particularly popular at the summer solstice with various pagans and New Agers, but now the longest day has come and gone the place will be less crowded. With a bit of luck, the Just Stop Oil protesters will have moved on to go and bother someone else with their orange powder paint too.

The ancient stone circle provides a great insight into the life and times of those who lived on the plain 5,000 years ago, not least their links with Wales, with the stones themselves having been quarried in the Preseli Hills.

Visitors can hire self-guided devices that provide audio explanations and information about various aspects of the stones, the people who built the monument, its possible purpose (still a matter of debate) and the modern history of the site.

Stonehenge is far from the only stone circle in the county. Avebury is less famous, but actually a lot bigger, the largest in Britain, and free to visit.

Horseplay And High Points

Another historic feature of Wiltshire is its white horses, carved out of chalk downlands. Of course, Oxfordshire has some of these too, but Wiltshire has more, and, most importantly, the 3,000-year-old Uffington white horse is the only definitely prehistoric one. The rest are imitations dating from mere centuries ago.

Climbing the downs won’t be the kind of lung-busting hike that some folk undertake with their bog boots and rucksacks, but you can still check out the highest hill in the county. A few years ago it was a matter of debate which was the highest point, between Milk Hill and Tan Hill, before a survey found that the 295-metre Milk Hill was higher by a grand total of 26cm.

Ben Nevis they may not be – there are summits more than twice as high above sea level even in the south west of England – but the views from both hills are great and a walk there can also take in the Alton Barnes White Horse and one genuinely prehistoric site, the Adams Grave Neolithic long barrow.

Much of the county is in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, so while it won’t exhaust anyone or leave folk scrambling up any knife-edge ridges, it will certainly provide some good exercise, great views and fresh air.

Cathedrals And Country Estates

Swindon may be the biggest town in the county, but the city of Salisbury is undoubtedly the place to go for historic architecture, not least the cathedral with its towering spire. Inside, you can see one of just four surviving documents of the original Magna Carta.

Other towns worth visiting include Bradford-on-Avon, with its many historic buildings, independent shops and attractive riverside setting.

If you want another grand historic building to see, try Lacock Abbey – the country home of William Henry Fox Talbot, which has its own museum, gardens and preserved street. Alternatively, there is the grand Corsham Court Estate.

With this mixture of beautiful upland scenery, historic and prehistoric monuments of great importance, plus some fine architecture and heritage to enjoy, Wiltshire offers loads for all visitors, so a small coach party will all be able to find things to make the trip memorable. And with it being so accessible, it will be easy to get there from Oxford and back again.