Presenting Melksham - for a weekend away in Wiltshire
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2006-11-17 08:26:19 - Graham Ellis
I do my best presentations when under pressure. ((Important NOTE to wife / staff / cat - DON'T pressure me every morning)). By which I mean that a new presentation or one I'm not quite prepared for even though I know my subject can, I think, sparkle with a freshness that's not there if it's been wellprepared and identically done many times before.
"What would I see around Melksham if I came to stay here?" A question asked of me last night, and although I have long extolled the local beauty I've never got down to doing a more formal presentation. But I found myself, joyfully, with the opportunity to say just how much there is to see and do around here, even if you're using public transport.
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Melksham itself was mentioned in the Domesday book - King William 1st's review of his kingdom. And many buildings that are hundreds of years old remain, all be it much altered and (in the town centre) fitted with modern shop fronts. But there are excellent walk around opportunities for the evenings, or for a Sunday afternoon. And there's a good selection of eateries and one or two hotels to stay in too.
Do you like historic houses and villages?
4 Miles North is the National Trust village of Lacock - with Lacock Abbey that was a monestry disolved by Henry VIII, and where Fox Talbot took the first reversal process photograph at the start of the Victorian era. See the Fox Talbot Museum, the Abbey, the Church and more.
6 Miles (North Westish) is Corsham - an old Cotswold town with teh magnificent Corsham Court, open to the public and with ground that you can walk through designed by Capability Brown.
3 Miles West ... Holt, where the National Trust gardens at "The Courts" attract visitors from far and wide - another favourite of ours.
Other features of interest?
5 miles to the East is the great flight of locks up Caen Hill, near Devizes, on the Kennet and Avon canal. You can watch boats as they take the 29 steps up the hillside, and perhaps help push a few gates. There's a tearoom at the top of the flight ..
8 miles to the South is the nearest of Wiltshire's White Horses - the Westbury White Horse - overlooking the town from the flank of Salisbury Plain. See hang-gliders, families out for the fresh air, enjoy the views yourself.
About 12 miles, and you'll find the Avebury Stone Circle (older and larger than Stonehenge, I may add), Silbury Hill, Windmill Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow, the Sanctuary and a host of other features that will occupy you for the best part of a day within a couple of miles.
Towns and cities?
Again about 12 miles away, the Roman City of Bath is a tourist Mecca. From the Baths which gave it its name, through the Abbey and the Royal Circle to river trips, shops and the Theatre. The bus goes into Bath from right outside our place - an excellent way in as the traffic and parking aren't always what you want to contend with on holiday.
Bradford on Avon is just six miles from us, with its old buildings (Church, Tithe barn), Canal, and much more. Devizes, again around 6 miles away is riddled with historic building and some excellent original shops too. Any you've Chippenham and Trowbridge (the county town) also at a similar distance.
Countryside?
I have left, perhaps, the best to last. The countryside around here is fabulous.
When Lisa's sister visited from the USA, after a day cooped up travelling I took her for a walk along the canal which passes just to the South of the build up area of Melksham (Bowerhill). Along to "The Barge" at Seend, "The Three Magpies" at Sells Green and on up Caen Hill. And we caught the bus back. I've been known to take customers on the same walk too.
Just beyond Devizes, you have the Marlborough Downs - Walk on Roundway Hill and Olivers Castle, take in the bracing air and glorious views.
But there's countryside all around. We have detailed maps here, available for loan or purchase, and the path network in places is almost as extensible as the roads. With a little bit of planning, you can take a bus out and walk back (or vice Versa) and discover new places for yourself that I've not listed above and don't know - find you own Wiltshire - there are plenty more gems out there.
Melksham itself was mentioned in the Domesday book - King William 1st's review of his kingdom. And many buildings that are hundreds of years old remain, all be it much altered and (in the town centre) fitted with modern shop fronts. But there are excellent walk around opportunities for the evenings, or for a Sunday afternoon. And there's a good selection of eateries and one or two hotels to stay in too.
4 Miles North is the National Trust village of Lacock - with Lacock Abbey that was a monestry disolved by Henry VIII, and where Fox Talbot took the first reversal process photograph at the start of the Victorian era. See the Fox Talbot Museum, the Abbey, the Church and more.
6 Miles (North Westish) is Corsham - an old Cotswold town with teh magnificent Corsham Court, open to the public and with ground that you can walk through designed by Capability Brown.
3 Miles West ... Holt, where the National Trust gardens at "The Courts" attract visitors from far and wide - another favourite of ours.
5 miles to the East is the great flight of locks up Caen Hill, near Devizes, on the Kennet and Avon canal. You can watch boats as they take the 29 steps up the hillside, and perhaps help push a few gates. There's a tearoom at the top of the flight ..
8 miles to the South is the nearest of Wiltshire's White Horses - the Westbury White Horse - overlooking the town from the flank of Salisbury Plain. See hang-gliders, families out for the fresh air, enjoy the views yourself.
About 12 miles, and you'll find the Avebury Stone Circle (older and larger than Stonehenge, I may add), Silbury Hill, Windmill Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow, the Sanctuary and a host of other features that will occupy you for the best part of a day within a couple of miles.
Again about 12 miles away, the Roman City of Bath is a tourist Mecca. From the Baths which gave it its name, through the Abbey and the Royal Circle to river trips, shops and the Theatre. The bus goes into Bath from right outside our place - an excellent way in as the traffic and parking aren't always what you want to contend with on holiday.
Bradford on Avon is just six miles from us, with its old buildings (Church, Tithe barn), Canal, and much more. Devizes, again around 6 miles away is riddled with historic building and some excellent original shops too. Any you've Chippenham and Trowbridge (the county town) also at a similar distance.
When Lisa's sister visited from the USA, after a day cooped up travelling I took her for a walk along the canal which passes just to the South of the build up area of Melksham (Bowerhill). Along to "The Barge" at Seend, "The Three Magpies" at Sells Green and on up Caen Hill. And we caught the bus back. I've been known to take customers on the same walk too.
Just beyond Devizes, you have the Marlborough Downs - Walk on Roundway Hill and Olivers Castle, take in the bracing air and glorious views.