Discover Salisbury, Wiltshire

Salisbury Cathedral: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salisbury_Cathedral.jpg
Author: Andrew Dunn


Salisbury, a cathedral city, is the second largest settlement and only city in Wiltshire, England, to the southwest of London. It has a population of 40,000 people.

Salisbury is located on the edge of the Salisbury Plain, at the confluence of five rivers namely the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye and Bourne, all of which enter the River Avon. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Evidence of a Neolithic settlement has been found on the hilltop at Old Sarum, a neighborhood on the northern part of Salisbury.

Salisbury itself dates back to the founding of its cathedral by St Bishop Osmund between 1075 and 1092. Originally established in Old Sarum, the village relocated to New Sarum in 1220, and that site becomes present-day Salisbury. According to legend, the site of Salisbury was selected by shooting an arrow from Old Sarum. It hit a deer, which died on the spot where the Salisbury Cathedral was erected.

Archway into Cathedral Close in Salisbury: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Archway_into_Cathedral_Close_-_geograph.org.uk_-_215287.jpg
Author: Christian Jones
Salisbury Cathedral is today custodian of the best-preserved of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. It also has the oldest surviving mechanical clock in Britain, installed in the cathedral in 1386. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in Britain, at 123 m (404 ft), the largest cathedral close in Britain (80 acres/320,000 sq mi), and the largest cloister.

The city of Salisbury was laid out in a grid pattern. It was a fortified town with a defensive wall. There were four city gates, with a fifth one added in the 19th century. Today the city is a domestic tourist destination. It hosts a market on Tuesdays and Saturdays when visitors can enjoy viewing and buying local goods.

Visiting Salisbury

There are trains from London to Salisbury on the line to Exeter. The budget Megatrain from London Waterloo Station to Salisbury can cost as little as just £1.00. There are also train services from Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bristol, Bath, Romsey and Southampton.

If you are driving from London, take the M3 motorway until Exit 8, then continue on the A303 road to Salisbury.

The Wardrobe (Museum of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment), Cathedral Close, Salisbury Salisbury: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wardrobe,_Salisbury.jpg
Author: Andrew Dunn

Places of Interest in Salisbury

Salisbury is on the Map of cities in England

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Ceremonial Counties of England

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.