Wiltshire County
(Historic)
Map Reference: (51.083627, -1.901459
Wiltshire is an inland county in the south of England. The City of Salisbury lies in the county's south-east, a mediƦval "new town" built around an ornate cathedral. Nearby is the ancient county town of Wilton, location of the magnificent Wilton House. Salisbury Plain stretches across almost the entre width of the county, a semi-wilderness used for arable farming and by the Army. The Plain is home to Stonehenge and many other ancient landscape features. North of the Plain, the Vale of Pewsey is a beautiful agricultural landscape of small villages and fertile fields. To its north, the chalk hills of the Marlborough Downs sweep across the county, creating a hauntingly beautiful landscape littered with earthworks, stone circles and hillforts of forgotten peoples. The most famous monuments are the Avebury ring and Silbury Hill. To their north is Swindon, an ancient place but transformed by the Great Western Railway. In the south-west of the county are the garrison town of Warminster and Westbury, famous for its White Horse. Nearby is Longleat, seat of the Marquesses of Bath. The River Avon flows through the west of the county, with Chippenham, Melksham, Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge lying along its valley. The north-west of the county lies in the Cotswolds, Malmesbury being an especially delightful Cotswolds market town.
