Wiltshire - more than just Stonehenge

Watching last night's episode of Poldark on BBC1 I was struck by this scene: that's not Cornwall, surely? Judging by the buildings it's west Wiltshire. Corsham in fact, with the ships Photoshoped in. The BBC, unlike those stuck on the A303, realise that Wiltshire's every bit as picturesque as Cornwall and a damn site easier to get to. Below is the real thing.

Bees might not be the only pollinators - even wasps help out - but they are the most noticeable and photogenic. They especially love our lavender, but other flowers in the garden get them buzzing too. Attracting them guarantees our fruit and veg get pollinated, and that we get the best possible harvest, even if this year's late, hard frost did for most of the pears.

Down below our greensand ridge to day, the wheat smells almost ready to harvest, a smell that takes me back to childhood. Crushed where deer have slept, there is a nutty, floury dry sweetness in the air despite the breeze. On the other side of the track the cattle rush to greet me: it is rare to see anybody down here, so they assume something good is going to happen, such as extra food or a salt lick. This is how we should treat our livestock, out in herds on fresh grass. Too often cattle are kept cooped up in megabarns, a miserable life just so that we can eat cheaply. Cheap? Cheap food might just cost us the earth. Too many people eating too much, relying on antibiotics to keep crowded livestock healthy. There are genuine concerns that antibiotic resistance is on the way, which will mean more than just the end to cheap meat. It would mean an end to many operations and some chemotherapies for human beings.  Yet our local butchers, R Douse & son are no more expensive than

Years ago I learnt not to bother telling people that I live in Wiltshire. It usually just gets a blank look. So I took to telling them I live near Stonehenge. Most people, even Americans, can conjure up Stonehenge in their mind’s eye. When our kids went to university, they quickly adopted the same trick. But the list of places we could also use makes you wonder how Wiltshire remains hidden in plain sight. To live in Wiltshire means to live near Salisbury Cathedral. Near Avebury stone circle. Near Lacock, where countless period dramas and Harry Potter were filmed. Near where the world’s most famous canoe race starts. Near where Brunel based his Great Western Railways. Where crop circles appear. Where Wadworth’s beer is brewed and Dyson is based. Where the white horses are carved into chalk hillsides. Where the greatest cavalry battle of the English Civil War was fought. Near Longleat safari park. Near where the Army train on Salisbury Plain, the wildest, most untouched, open gra