Wiltshire - more than just Stonehenge

In a previous post  I wrote about my adopted county of Wiltshire, and decided that maybe I should go and work for the tourist board. But of course there are no jobs there - paid, at least - so I abandoned writing about motorcycles and set too on a new book about Wiltshire . And here it is..  England was born in Wiltshire when King Alfred won the battle of Ethandune in 878, and one of Wiltshire’s famous white horses still guards the site. Of course people lived in Wiltshire long before that: Stonehenge was once the most populous place in Europe, and the site of a great midwinter feast. One of the few places not covered by dense forests, this was where sheep farming could make England rich and create the biggest empire the world has seen. But Britain’s rise came with mixed fortunes. The Black Death killed millions, yet allowed a new middle class to emerge and create the first true European democracy. Yet conflict has never been far away, a bloody Civil War bei...

Silbury Hill , just outside Avebury, is the largest man made mound in Europe: about the size of an Egyptian pyramid for "was god an astronaut?" types. It's is even more of a puzzler than Stonehenge. Why was it built? Nobody knows. Years ago it was so extensively tunnelled looking for clues that there was talk of back filling it with concrete to stabilise it: the Teresa May of prehistory. My brother and I sat on the top of it around 1970, seeing who could throw stones the furthest, although the shape of the hill meant we couldn't see where the stones were landing.   Eventually we heard a yelp and an archaeologist shouting something you boys shouldn't hear. He chased us off but couldn't catch us because we were running downhill. You're not allowed on the hill anymore, although the worn paths tell that people still do. It's a wonderful walk out from Avebury with some fantastic views, best captured by local artist David Inshaw.  There's one...

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 ...

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...