Tourist Information

How to get here.... Map Calne's Railway Station is just a thing of the past, but Chippenham just six miles away is situated on the main railway line from Paddington to the West Country. There is a good Bus Service between the two towns or a choice of taxi companies to complete your journey. If travelling by motorway leave the M4 at Junction 16. If your approach is more leisurely than the motorway arrival via the A4 from the East gives a good view of the town as you descend from Cherhill.

The Calne Visitor & Community Information Centre Bank House The Strand Calne, Wiltshire SN11 0EN Tel. 01249 814000 email: calne@northwilts.gov.uk Opening Times: Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 6.30 pm Saturday 9.30 am to 12.30 pm.

Local Taxis

These are the principal establishments, but the local directory lists a couple of dozen more. The Tourist Information Centre will be pleased to advise you. See also the pages of SmoothHound where some bookings may be made "on-line"

This 1997 view of the Lansdowne Strand Hotel is now partially obscured by the new library complex.

Caravan and Camping Sites.

• Blacklands Lakes Holiday & Leisure Centre
  Stockley Lane
  Calne
  Wiltshire
  SN11 0NQ
  Tel.01249 813672
  Fax. 01249 811346
  On the A4 Calne - Marlborough road. A caravan site with extras: lake fishing, indoor swimming, fitness centre and more. Large and the facilities are open to non residents so can be busy.
  
• Caravanning and Camping available at Lowbridge Farm
  Lowbridge
  Bremhill
  Calne
  Wiltshire
  SN11 9HE
  Tel.01249 815889   See also under Hotels above.

Check the map

• Ultimate Karting of Hullavington
  Open every day 11.00am - 10.00pm Indoors, Junior sessions. Take the A429 Chippenham to Malmesbury road, over the M4, then left after old airfield. Signposted.
  Tel. 01666 838600
  

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• Car Racing & Karting at Castle Combe Circuit
  Signposted from A420, Chippenham - Bristol.
  Also hosts special days for many classic car clubs.
  Check local press or Tourist Information Centre for details of current events.
  

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• Bowood House, home to Earl and Countess of Shelburne was built around 1760. Part of the House was demolished in 1955, some of what remains is open to the public. The estate was inherited from, Sir William Petty. Petty's widow became the Baroness Shelburne, and it was their grandson who settled at Bowood, and their great-grandson who became the 1st.Marquis of Lansdowne. It was he, who befriended Joseph Priestly, the early chemist who discovered oxygen at Bowood. Successive generations added to the house, Sir Charles Cockerell designed the Chapel, Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of parliament, the Clock tower, the Italianate Tower and the Golden Gates at the entrance. Outside, there are grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, with a Doric Temple, a pinetum and arboretum, and a most spectacular Cascade.

  The separate Rhododendron Gardens are open for six weeks during May and June and for the younger visitor there is an Adventure Playground.

  Open daily from March until November 11am - 5.30pm Tel.01249 812102 for further information.
  Entrance off A4 Calne to Chippenham road.

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  Corsham Court Based on an Elizabethan house dating from 1582, restyled by "Capability" Brown and standing in Brown's parkland, landscaped gardens. Corsham Court houses a magnificent collection of 16th and 17th century Italian and Flemish paintings, rare Italian primitives and stone inlaid furniture. You are free to wander at will through a collection including works by Van Dyck, Caravaggio, Rubens and Reynolds. The house has been used as a setting for several cinema and TV films. Open Daily, excepting Mondays and December. Check times. Tel. 01249 701610. On A4 Chippenham - Bath road, (4 miles)

• Lacock Abbey, & Fox Talbot Museum

  The Abbey dating from 1232 was donated along with most of the rest of the village, to the National Trust in 1944. It has been carefully maintained and the village is a collection of 700 years of architecture. The Abbey was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot inventor of photography and the great barn at its entrance is a museum commemorating his life and work. Lacock is off the A350 Chippenham to Trowbridge road
  

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• The White Horses

  No visit to Wiltshire would be complete without going to see a white horse or seven. Yes seven. Once long, long ago some-one decided to dig out a patch of steep hillside in the shape of a horse and let the chalk show through. Like a lot of good ideas, it sort of caught on! Visit the White Horses

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• Woodland Park

  Brokerswood Woodland Park covers eighty acres of historic broad leaved woodland. During the summer guided walks are offered during the day and evening, followed by either lunch or supper. Or go your own way.There are nature trails, a lake with wild fowl, coarse fishing and picnic areas. Purpose built barbeques are available.
  Also in the park is the Smokey Oak Railway. Chalet accommodation, together with a caravan and camping site are available for those who wish to stay.
  Contact the Administration Office on 01373 822238 for further details.
  Brokerswood is between the A361 Trowbridge - Frome and A36 Bath - Warminster roads. From Chippenham take the A350 south, turn right at Yarnbrook, then left.
  

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• Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum

  A small informal museum containing around 70 exhibits. Ranging from a tiny 1931 Singer of just 847cc to a 8200cc Cadillac Sedan De-Ville. Open all year but not Fridays or Saturdays. 11am - 5pm (4pm in winter)
  The museum is off the A4 Calne to Marlborough road.
  

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• Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

  Yes the GWR again. Thirteen miles of live steam railway based at Toddington, the GWR hope eventually to restore the line from Stratford to Cheltenham. A great day out on the railway for all ages..Weekends, Bank Holidays and daily through the school holidays. Check with their talking timetable on 01242 621405. They also run Wine & Dine evening excursions and footplate experience courses. Drive it yourself!
  Toddington is north of Chippenham on A429 Cirencester then Stow on the Wold, turn left at Stow on to the B4077.
  

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• Stonehenge

  Just 25 miles from Calne, Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site and should not be missed. Building started over 5,000 years ago and took some 1,500 years. Stand and gaze at stones that were pulled overland by men for over 219 miles. After you've soaked it all in you may still not believe it.
  Opening times vary with the season but always include 9.30am - 4.00pm. Tel.01980 624715. Closed 24-26 December & 1 January.
  The best route to Stonehenge is via Devizes A324, then Tilshead A360
  An English Heritage site.

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• Avebury

  Not immediately as impressive as Stonehenge, Avebury is a much larger site yet with a more intimate feel to it. The village has grown in among the stones. Indeed many can be found broken down and embedded into the wall of buildings.Take a walk around the great ditch and up on the top among the stones themselves. Visit the Museum and the Church, part Anglo Saxon, part Norman, part 1812. For the really energetic, Silbury Hill, the largest man made mound in Europe, lies only a mile to the South. Avebury is a mile off the A4 Calne to Marlborough road. Picture tour of Avebury

Map

Contributions from individuals and organisations in the Calne area always welcome.
Please email yourguide@zetnet.co.uk