Trowbridge

Trowbridge's own hotel choice is modest but practical, with town-centre and roadside options well suited to visitors passing through on the A350 or A361, or arriving by train at Trowbridge station. Budget and mid-range chain hotels sit alongside a handful of independent inns, making the town a sensible, well-connected base for a night or two. For something with more character, the surrounding villages and nearby Bradford-on-Avon offer boutique guesthouses and country inns, many housed in converted mill buildings or weavers' cottages that echo the area's cloth-making past. Bath, just a short drive or train ride north, adds a much wider range of hotels for those happy to base themselves a little further afield while still exploring west Wiltshire by day. Wherever you stay, Trowbridge's central position means Longleat, Bradford-on-Avon, Bath and Salisbury are all within comfortable reach, so it is worth weighing up whether you want the convenience of staying in the town itself or the extra charm of a village or riverside setting a few miles out.

Trowbridge rewards a slower pace than the big-name Wiltshire honeypots, but there is plenty to fill a day or two in and around the town.

• Trowbridge Museum — Housed in the Grade II listed Home Mills, a former woollen mill, the museum tells the story of how the town became Wiltshire's county town on the back of the cloth trade. Exhibits include a complete Spinning Jenny, one of only five surviving examples in the world, and a fulling machine patented by local engineer John Dyer in 1833.
• Parade House — Built around 1720 for wealthy cloth merchant Robert Houlton, this is one of Wiltshire's finest Georgian townhouses, now restored with period rooms, costume displays and a grand ballroom open to visitors.
• St James' Church — The town's parish church has a soaring spire that dominates the Trowbridge skyline and is one of the tallest in Wiltshire; poet George Crabbe, once rector here, is buried inside.
• Bradford-on-Avon — A short hop east, this photogenic small town has a rare Saxon church, a multi-arched packhorse bridge, and the Kennet and Avon Canal, ideal for gentle towpath walks or a canal boat trip.
• Longleat — England's first drive-through safari park and a magnificent Elizabethan house are within easy reach for a full day out with children.
• Great Chalfield Manor — A moated, National Trust-run medieval manor house with beautiful gardens, a peaceful contrast to the bustle of the town.
• Steeple Ashton — One of Wiltshire's prettiest villages, with timber-framed and thatched cottages clustered around a handsome medieval church.
• Trowbridge Park — The town's Victorian public park offers open lawns, mature trees and a boating lake, good for a picnic or a run around after a morning of sightseeing.

The Hidden Brasserie has built a strong local reputation and holds an AA Rosette for its cooking, while the Bridge Brasserie makes the most of its riverside setting with contemporary British dishes using seasonal ingredients. For Italian food, Verona Italian Restaurant and Caffe Italiano are popular choices, and Namaste Trowbridge serves well-regarded Indian cuisine. The Garden Trowbridge offers a Mediterranean-inspired menu in a relaxed garden setting. Out in the surrounding villages, traditional pubs such as the Wiltshire Yeoman and the Old Bear Inn serve classic pub food alongside modern gastro dishes, often with locally sourced ingredients and, in the Yeoman's case, live music evenings.

Wiltshire's gentle, rolling countryside around Trowbridge is well suited to camping and glamping, with sites scattered through the Avon and Wylye valleys and out towards the edges of Salisbury Plain. It is worth remembering that wild camping is not legally permitted in England without the landowner's explicit permission, so pitching up on open farmland or common land around Trowbridge without asking first is not an option; instead, the area has a good spread of licensed campsites, certified sites and farm-based pitches that welcome tents, campervans and caravans.

The terrain here is gentle rather than dramatic: soft chalk downland gives way to river meadows along the Biss, Avon and Wylye, and many sites make the most of this with pitches backing onto paddocks, orchards or canal-side walks near Bradford-on-Avon. Glamping has taken hold strongly in this part of Wiltshire, with shepherd's huts, bell tents and safari-style tents offering a comfortable stepping stone into the outdoors for those who want the scenery without full self-sufficiency, and many sites lean into the local landscape with views towards Salisbury Plain or the wooded slopes around Bradford-on-Avon.

Late spring through to early autumn is the most popular and reliable window for camping around Trowbridge, when the countryside is at its greenest and evenings are long enough for a barbecue or a walk along the Kennet and Avon towpath. Summer school holidays bring the busiest period, particularly at sites close to Longleat, so early booking is worth it if you have your heart set on a particular pitch. Shoulder-season camping in spring and autumn can be quieter and cooler but rewards visitors with misty valley mornings and fewer crowds at the area's museums and historic houses. Whatever the season, a good waterproof and warm layers are sensible packing for any Wiltshire campsite, given the unpredictable nature of English weather even in midsummer.