In this post about a wood, you will find no photos of woodland because while this is a location with many trees, the greater interest is found in the river and canal that surrounds it and the insects and flowers that inhabit the area. That is not to say the woodland is not worthy of exploration - it is, and its shade provided welcome respite from the heat of the sun. Widbrook Wood itself is located close to the edge of Trowbridge, the county town of Wiltshire. It is a perfect

Wiltshire has a lot of woodland sites that are worth visiting, from the enormous Savernake Forest down to small pockets of ancient woodland like Clanger Wood. Currently managed by the magnificent Woodland Trust, it has provenance back to the 1080s when the Domesday book chronicled the fact that woodland existed on this site. Admittedly it was part of the much larger Forest of Selwood but this pocket of wood is one of the few remnants of Selwood that remain with us today. It i

Erlestoke is a place I've often driven through but never really stopped to take a look. It is a nice little village on the road between West Lavington and Westbury and as you approach it from the Westbury side, the road descends through some dark tree tunnels and you really feel like you are deep in the countryside. Curiously, the Government has placed a prison on the outskirts of the village, which is built around the old Erlestoke manor house. The manor house was bought by

Roundway Down is an Iron Age hill fort on the outskirts of Devizes and is an imposing sight. This steep hill can be seen for miles around. I often spot it when driving through Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset, and it must be 15 miles from there as the crow flies. This steep, chalk, grass covered down really is a thing of beauty, only surpassed by the views from the top. On a summer's day the views are among the best in Wiltshire. When you are up there you can do a good circula

The name of this Wiltshire Wildlife reserve is puzzling, as there is no mill here although there may well have been one in the distant past. But it is worth visiting in the summer months as it is a perfect example of an alder carr. Carrs are waterlogged woodlands - a mix between a swamp and a wooded fen, and in this instance, the water is fed from springs and the River Avon which flows through it. While it can be wet underfoot, the woodland can be easily traversed by walking

I visited the Devenish on a hot, humid summer day and appreciated the ample shade provided by the trees and the grassy, steep hills to lounge on while taking in the view of the Woodford Valley below. We walked past a family with young children and a dog who cheerfully commented that this is no better place to be on a hot summer day and I wholeheartedly agree.​​ Sites like The Devenish embody the very reason why I embarked on this Hidden Wiltshire journey. It may not be well k

Peppercombe Wood in Urchfont. These place names sound like they belong in Middle Earth, populated by hobbits. But Urchfont is a very real place that is quintessentially English. It even has a village pond. The wood itself is small but the approach to it is pleasing, as you walk down a sunken lane that is overgrown and dark, and has small cliffs peeking through the vegetation. The lane is quite damp and muddy, even when I visited in summer, with springs feeding channels of wat