Salisbury

Perched on the edge of Salisbury Plain, this ancient market town has been pulling in visitors for over 800 years - and for good reason. The cathedral spire, Britain's tallest, cuts through the skyline like a medieval skyscraper, visible from miles across the surrounding chalk downland. Walking through the streets feels like stepping back centuries, with timber-framed houses leaning conspiratorially over narrow lanes.

Salisbury Cathedral dominates the scene, naturally. The 13th-century masterpiece houses one of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta - proper history you can actually see up close. The Close surrounding it is England at its most refined, with manicured lawns and Georgian houses that wouldn't look out of place in a Jane Austen adaptation.

Beyond the city centre, the landscape opens up dramatically. Salisbury Plain stretches endlessly in most directions, dotted with ancient sites that predate the cathedral by millennia. Yarnbury Castle, an Iron Age hillfort, offers cracking views across the downs, while the mysterious Mesolithic Wooden Post Hole nearby reminds you just how long people have called this area home. The surrounding hills - Chain Hill, Ebsbury Hill, and Heath Hill among them - provide excellent walking with that particular downland feeling of space and sky.

Getting here couldn't be easier. Direct trains from London Waterloo take just 90 minutes, while the A303 brings drivers straight from the capital. For exploring the wider area, staying at one of the nearby parks like Stonehenge Campsite & Glamping or Marshwood Farm Camping makes perfect sense. You're ideally placed for day trips to the world's most famous stone circle, just eight miles north, while having Salisbury's restaurants and pubs on your doorstep for evening meals.