Wiltshire

Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. Considered as a ceremonial county it borders those of Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and contains the unitary authority of Swindon.

Wiltshire is a mostly rural landscape with large areas of rolling chalk downland and grazing farmland. A large part of the county is taken up by Salisbury Plain, a vast expanse of semi-wilderness used mainly by farmers and the British Army. The county had a population of 564,000 in 1991 and a size of 858,931 acres (3475.97 km²). A local name for a Wiltshire native is moonraker.

Wiltshire's most famous landmark is being Stonehenge.

The highest point of the county is Milk Hill on Salisbury Plain, at 295m/968ft.

Places in Wiltshire

Main article: List of places in Wiltshire

Notable towns and cities in Wiltshire are:

• Calne
• Chippenham
• Devizes
• Marlborough
• Salisbury
• Swindon
• Trowbridge

Notable places of interest in Wiltshire are:

• Avebury, neolithic stone circle
• Barbury Castle
• Bowood House
• Castle Combe
• Castle Hill, Mere
• Chisbury Chapel
• Crofton Pumping Station
• Great Chalfield Manor
• Iford Manor and gardens
• Lacock Abbey
• Old Sarum, the former cathedral
• Old Wardour Castle
• Salisbury Cathedral
• Silbury Hill
• Stonehenge
• West Kennet Long Barrow
• Westwood Manor
• Woodhenge
• Wilton House
• Wilton Windmill

Notable areas of countryside in Wiltshire are:

• Cranborne Chase
• Marlborough Downs
• Salisbury Plain
• Vale of Pewsey

Notable routes through Wiltshire are:

• Kennet and Avon Canal
• Swindon and Cricklade Railway, a heritage railway
• The Thames Path, a long distance footpath

External links

• John Aubrey's The Natural History of Wiltshire
• White horses of Wiltshire