The best walks and hikes around Salisbury

Salisbury’s phenomenal history

If you’ve got a thing for history or simply love historic buildings, keeping your walks in Salisbury’s city centre will show you some incredible sites. The cathedral has the largest cathedral close in the country and it’s packed with buildings that haven’t changed in centuries. As you explore the streets, you can find timbered buildings, grand stone archway gates, 14th-century almshouses and grand mansions. 

Some of the best hiking trails in Salisbury take you to Old Sarum, to the north of the city. This site was home to the original Norman cathedral and was used prolifically by King William I after his victorious 1066 victory at Hastings. It lay within a vast fortress, and today you can still see the cathedral’s foundations. 

Out of the city, you can find numerous Iron Age remnants littering the landscape. Clearbury Rings, Little Woodbury, innumerable tumuli, medieval field systems, Figsbury Ring and the Portway Roman road are all within a stone’s throw. 

Walking the waterways

A great way to choose a hike from Salisbury is to pick a river to follow. The River Avon is arguably the city’s main waterway, and plenty of paths cross it or run alongside it for sections both up and down stream. The Bourne and the nearby Wylye are also great for sticking close by, as they take you to charming villages and serene countryside. For a grand adventure, you can follow the Avon on any of the many footpaths heading north to reach the iconic Stonehenge, which lies only 8 miles (13 km) north west as the crow flies. 

If it’s woodland walks you’re after, head east from the city centre to explore the undulating copses and plantations on the way to the village of Pitton, itself a lovely place to visit. For water meadows, you don’t have to go far at all. Simply hike to Long Bridge by the station and walk south west through the stunning, peaceful surroundings.