Chippenham

Chippenham's hotels suit visitors who want a comfortable, well-connected base rather than a rural retreat, with options clustered near the railway station and the main road links into town. Chain hotels offer straightforward comfort for business travellers and families alike, while a handful of independent guesthouses and B&Bs provide a more personal stay closer to the town centre and its riverside parks.

For something with more character, the villages surrounding Chippenham are hard to beat. Lacock has historic coaching inns with rooms just steps from the abbey and its famous film-location streets, while Castle Combe offers a small number of boutique and historic hotel stays amid the honey-stone cottages that make it one of the most visited villages in England. Corsham, too, has period townhouse accommodation within easy reach of Corsham Court.

Whichever option you choose, Chippenham's position on the Great Western main line and close to the M4 means hotels here work well both as a weekend base for exploring Wiltshire and the southern Cotswolds, and as a convenient stop between London, Bristol and Bath.

Chippenham makes a practical, well-connected base, and its surroundings are some of the most photographed countryside in England.

• Chippenham Museum — housed in an 18th-century townhouse on the Market Place, telling the story of the town from prehistoric finds through to its railway and canal heyday, with links to Alfred the Great and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
• Yelde Hall — a striking half-timbered building dating back to the 1400s, once used as a court and jail, now cared for by the town museum.
• Lacock village and Lacock Abbey (National Trust) — three miles south, a beautifully preserved medieval village of honey-stone cottages, founded as a nunnery in 1232 and later home to photography pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot; its unspoilt streets have featured in numerous period dramas.
• Castle Combe — often called one of England's prettiest villages, with limestone cottages, a medieval market cross and a packhorse bridge over the Bybrook, roughly a 20-minute drive north-west.
• Corsham Court — five miles south-west, a grand country house with an outstanding collection of Old Master paintings, set in parkland landscaped by Capability Brown.
• Monkton Park and John Coles Park — Chippenham's green spaces along the River Avon, with mature trees, a Victorian bandstand and riverside walking routes.
• Chippenham Market — traditional street markets held on the High Street on Fridays and Saturdays, alongside the town's Farmers' Market.
• Chippenham Folk Festival — a long-running festival over the late May bank holiday weekend, drawing folk musicians and performers from across the country.

The town centre has a good spread of independent cafes and restaurants around the Market Place and Borough Parade, alongside familiar high street names. Just outside town, The Ivy pub chain has no presence here, but the villages more than make up for it: The George Inn in Lacock is a 15th-century pub famous for its dog-powered spit-roasting wheel still visible in the fireplace, while The Castle Inn and The White Hart in Castle Combe both serve classic pub food in suitably historic surroundings. Chippenham's Friday and Saturday markets are a good spot to pick up local produce, and the town's farmers' market showcases Wiltshire growers and food producers.

Wiltshire's gently rolling countryside around Chippenham offers a pleasant if understated setting for a camping trip, well away from the crowds that build up around the more famous Cotswold villages in peak season. Campsites in the area tend to be small, family-run affairs set on working farms or in orchards, with easy access to the River Avon, the Wilts and Berks Canal towpath, and cycling and walking routes out towards Lacock, Corsham and the edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a landscape of hedgerows, wide skies and quiet lanes rather than dramatic scenery, which makes it a relaxed choice for families and those wanting a low-key countryside break within easy striking distance of Bath and Bristol.

As with everywhere else in England, wild camping is not legal here without the explicit permission of the landowner, so pitch only on registered campsites or on private land where you have secured that permission in advance. Wiltshire's farmland is almost entirely privately owned and actively worked, so opportunistic pitching is neither welcome nor legal, and campers should always book an established site.

Late spring through to early autumn is the most reliable window for camping around Chippenham, when the Cotswold villages nearby are at their best and evenings are long enough for a walk along the Avon or an evening in a village pub garden. The Chippenham Folk Festival over the late May bank holiday brings extra life to the area for those timing a trip around it, while high summer suits families wanting to combine camping with day trips to Lacock, Castle Combe and Bath. For those who would rather skip the tent altogether, glamping options in the surrounding countryside — shepherd's huts, safari tents and converted farm buildings — are increasingly common across Wiltshire, offering a comfortable way to enjoy the same rural setting without sacrificing creature comforts. Whichever you choose, book ahead in summer, as sites within easy reach of Lacock and Castle Combe are popular with visitors touring this part of Wiltshire and the southern Cotswolds.