For the purists amongst you, you might want to look away as this walk spends much of its time outside of Wiltshire. But it starts and finishes in our county and for part of the time crosses countryside where the borders were frequently moved, such that places found themselves changing county over the years. But to help you make your decision whether to continue reading we will be visiting Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset as well as Wiltshire.

This is a wonderful and diverse walk with lots of interest and varied history across the ages. It explores the village of Netherhampton and its famous hoard, Salisbury Racecourse and the lost tragic village of Washern.

I’ve been meaning to explore the downs to the north of Mere for years. The many folds in the landscape caused by man’s presence over millennia combined with the forces of nature make this an enticing landscape. And on the day we visited, the low autumn sun on a bright clear day just served to highlight the profile of the countless earthworks, ditches and ripples even more.

I’ve long wanted to do a walk in this area as it’s somewhere I used to cycle a lot. Our bike club would often ride up the long climb through Gare Hill and a hush would descend on the group, not just because we were struggling for breath, but because it always felt slightly eerie – there never seemed to be any birdsong. The countryside here is quite different to much of the rest of Wiltshire. No big open skies but deep valleys and forest.

But the real jewel at Littlecote is the extraordinary mosaic. It was extensively and carefully restored at great cost and covered by a roof to protect it from the worst of the weather. For me though, the wonderful thing is that this important scheduled monument is open to all and at no cost. Isn’t this how it should be for many more of our ancient monuments?

The first leg of this walk takes in the canal towpath and then turns north to return to Wootton Rivers via the Savernake Forest, somewhere I have long intended to explore but somehow never have. As ever my route took in a church.

A visit to the lovely villages of Coombe Bissett and Homington. Taking in the ancient, dark and mysterious Great Yews and encountering not one but two Anubis. All whilst enjoying the ancient landscape and natural beauty of Coombe Bissett and Homington Downs with the River Ebble running through the Coombe and under the pack horse bridge at Coombe Bissett.

I love ambling along canal towpaths. Whilst I also love walking in the hills it’s nice to do a less challenging walk from time to time and of course canal towpaths are completely flat. And as a photographer canals are the perfect place to find a blaze of colour and intriguing vignettes. I also find the industrial history fascinating and it was a pleasant surprise to find some railway history on this route too. But the icing on the cake was to discover an even older historical

An escapist quest to walk along the length of the Shire Rack the ancient boundary that exists between Wiltshire and Dorset. A mystical area of the Cranborne Chase National Landscape where creatures and heroes of myths and legends must surely still exist.

When was the last time you saw a hedge that had been layed? A rare sight I would suggest. An ever rarer sight is a hedge layer

The glory of the Plain is that in areas that are not red flagged the walker is free to roam anywhere other than woodland

On occasions we see an idea or a small business we like and we’re happy to mention them simply because we believe in what they are doing.

First of all, if mid-January isn’t too late to say it, a Happy New Year to all our followers. And welcome to our first blog of 2025 after a

Dedicated followers of Hidden Wiltshire will know that we love a good church

The village of Seend provokes thoughts on the past and musings on the esoteric and other worlds. A place to look for pirates and storks.

A wonderful walk around Pewsey and Pewsey Vale. Taking in waterway views and the history of Alfred the Great.

Remembering the hero Horatio Nelson on a lovely circular walk along the River Avon near Downton.

This is another route right on the extremes of the county. It is mostly in Wiltshire apart from a short section in Somerset.

I teamed up with my regular walking buddy and next door neighbour Stu for this walk. And what a difference a week makes.

On a whim I decided to walk from Wilton around Burcombe and the aptly named Punch Bowl. This natural landscape is intriguing and beautiful.