From Wikitravel

Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury is a cathedral city in the English county of Wiltshire, in the heart of the West Country.

Get in

By plane

The most convenient airports are:

• London Heathrow Airport is about 75 miles drive from Salisbury via the M25 (anti-clockwise), M3 (southbound), A303, A346 and A30. There is a Railair coach service to Woking station, where mainline trains to Salisbury can be boarded; two services an hour give a journey time of just over two hours for the whole journey. National Express also offer several coaches a day from Heathrow to Salisbury.
• London Gatwick Airport is about 100 miles drive from Salisbury via the M23 (northbound), M25 (clockwise), M3 (southbound), A303, A346 and A30. By train, catch a London bound train which stops at Clapham Junction (note that the heavily advertised Gatwick Express does not stop there) from the airport rail station, and change at Clapham Junction for a service to Salisbury; two services an hour give a journey time of just under two hours for the whole journey.

Regional Airports nearby include:

• Southampton Airport is about 25 miles away, and is probably the easiest to access, both by car and train. Driving is simple - to get to Salisbury, take the M27 (westbound) towards Bournemouth, then exit at J2 onto the A36 towards Salisbury. Southampton Airport Parkway train station is at the airport terminal. There is one direct train an hour from the station to Salisbury, taking just under an hour or alternatively travel via Romsey, with total journey time varying between 45 minutes to an hour. The X7 Bus for Salisbury leaves from Outside Southampton Central Station regularly.
• Bournemouth Airport is also 25 miles away. It is an easy drive - the A338 Bournemouth - Salisbury road takes you all the way. However public transport links to the airport are poor, and you should get a taxi from Ringwood or Bournemouth - the X3 bus links Bournemouth, Ringwood and Salisbury every half hour. Bournemouth airport is mostly served by charter flights, and a small number of short-haul scheduled flights.
• Bristol International Airport is about 60 miles from Salisbury, and is the only nearby regional airport with daily services to the USA. Many other short-haul destinations also have frequent flights from here. A frequent coach service (3 per hour) links the airport with Bristol Temple Meads station, which provides onward train connections to Salisbury (destination Southampton or Portsmouth). Through tickets are available. Driving is a little more complex, and you are advised to get a good map or good directions.

By train

Salisbury has a station on the secondary main line from London to Exeter. From London, travel from London Waterloo rail station; there are two trains an hour which take about 1hr 30mins for the journey. If you are on a budget, Megatrain offer highly discounted train travel from London Waterloo to Salisbury, starting at £1 each way. Megatrain is only available from London.

Hourly trains also run through Salisbury on the Cardiff to Portsmouth secondary main line. These trains also link Bristol, Bath, Romsey and Southampton with Salisbury.

Connections for the North of the UK are available at Bristol, Basingstoke (on the London line) and from various stations in London. Connections for Wales and rail connections to west Wales for boats to Ireland are available by changing at Cardiff. For Cornwall and the South West Peninsular, change at Exeter.

Train times (from any location) can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-7-48-49-50 from anywhere in the UK. The station is a five minute walk from the town centre, just head down Fisherton St.

By bus

National Express [1] operate services to Salisbury from cities throughout the UK including London. Advance ticketing is required.

For those with a special interest in West Country cathedral cities, Wilts & Dorset [2] operate the branded Cathedral Connection between Salisbury and Winchester, taking in some very attractive countryside on route. Despite its branding, this is a rural bus service (number 68) with no need for advance ticketing; it operates six times a day (except Sundays) and takes about an hour and a half for the journey. Timetable details can be found on the website, or by telephoning 336855.

Wilts & Dorset also operate local services throughout the Salisbury area, including services to Stonehenge from the bus station and train station forecourt.

Four bus based park and ride facilities are available, see National Park and Ride Directory

By car

Salisbury has been a major regional cross-roads for thousands of years, and this is still the case today, with the A30, A36, A338, A345 and A360 main roads crossing here. Traffic is notorious in Salisbury, particularly on a Friday, and generally on the A36 Southampton Road. Through traffic is kept out of the partially pedestrianised and traffic-calmed city centre by the modern dual-carriageway ring road. If you are driving, you may want to consider using one of the Park and Ride sites [3] dotted around the edge of the city. If you want to park closer, there are a number of large car parks with direct interchange onto the ring road, but beware the high prices charged. Driving in the city centre itself is not recommended, as there is a complex one-way system, and a large amount of traffic on the non-pedestrianised roads.

If you are driving:

• from London, take the M3, A303, A346 and A30,
• from Bristol the A4 and A36,
• from Southampton the A36,
• from Portsmouth take the M27 and A36,
• and from the North travel via the A34 (Oxford), A303 and A338.

Salisbury is a major routeing point on the road network, and will be signed as a destination at the appropriate exits on the M3, M27, A4 and A303.

Get around

The bus Station is located just off the Market Square on Endless St. they travel to surrounding villages and towns, and further afield to Swindon, Bournemouth and Southampton.

The main taxi rank is in New Canal Street, opposite the cinema, with smaller ones at the train station and Fisherton St.

The city centre is small enough to walk across in a few minutes. Old Sarum, which is on the edge of the town is only a 50 minute walk from the town centre.

• Salisbury Cathedral [4], tel 01722 555120, open daily 7.15am-6.15pm, suggested entry donation adults £3.80, senior/student £3.30, child £2 - constructed between 1220 and 1258, Salisbury Cathedral has the highest spire in England at 404 feet (123 metres). Cathedral services take place daily and opening times can vary at short notice depending on services. The cathedral close is especially beautiful with fine lawns surrounded by elegant and historic buildings. There are daily guided tours up the tower (extra payment) - not for those scared of heights but the views are magnificent. For history buffs, the cathedral has an original copy of Magna Carta on show.
• Old Sarum [5], tel 01722 335398. Located on a hilltop north of modern Salisbury, Old Sarum is the site of the original city, showing evidence of habitation from 3000BC to 1219 when the bishop relocated Salisbury Cathedral to its current location. Until 1832 Old Sarum was a 'rotten borough', electing two members of parliament despite long periods during which there were no residents. Most of the site is free to enter, although there is a charge to enter the Inner Bailey.

• Stonehenge is also definitely worth seeing. It is the ruins of a neolithic monument, and it is truly incredible that some of it still remains!
• Bulford Kiwi, Canberra Drive (not numbered). Kiwis longing for home, might want to do a pilgrimage to the Bulford district, where a 130 meter high (covering a full 1.5 acres!) image of a Kiwi bird was carved in the chalk rock by New Zealand soldiers waiting to return home after the end of World War I. Free.  edit

• The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum [6], The King's House, 65 The Close, Salisbury tel 01722 332151, open Mon-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm (Jul-Aug Sun 2:00pm-5:00pm), admission adults £5.00, child £2.00 - This small but varied museum houses displays on the history of Salisbury, costume, ceramics, pictures and the Stonehenge Gallery. In 'Notes from a Small Island', Bill Bryson comments that "Salisbury museum is outstanding and I urge you to go there at once"!

Buy

The Charter Market is a retail market held twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays (except the third Tuesday in October) from 8 AM to 4 PM (till 3:30 PM between Christmas and Easter) in Salisbury Market Square. The market consists of 90 stalls plus 10 farmers' stalls.

There are a number of smaller specialist shops and two main shopping centres; The Old George Mall and The Crosskeys.

• Cactus Jacks is an excellent Mexican restaurant on water lane, just off Fisherton St, overlooking the river. Which has great food, drink, and atmosphere.

• Fisherton St has many Curry Houses and Chinese restaurants. Around the Market Square there are a variety of restaurants, there also some upmarket restuarants along New Street near the Cathedral Entrance.

• hox brasserie, 155 fisherton st salisbury (head down Fisherton street, under the railway bridge, it is located just before the roundabout on the left side), ☎ 341600, [7]. 6 to 12. Good, modern Indian restaurant 22.00.  edit

Drink

There are a large number of pubs in the city centre; the main axis of drinking is Fisherton Street, through the centre and up Milford Hill. Many of the larger pubs stay open until 12, or later at weekends. The main axis of drinking is the town end of Fisherton Street and Milford Street where many of the larger pubs are. Smaller 'local' pubs are found across town.

The largest club is The Chapel (Milford Street), but it is expensive to get in (£8-10 usually, but cheaper before 10-11). Other clubs include N&N (Endless Street by the bus station) and Level 2 (Catherine Street).

• Byways Guest House, A large bed and breakast located in a quiet area of the town centre, within 10 minutes walk of the market square. Free wi-fi and parking, prices start from £39 for a single room. 01722 328264

• Salisbury Youth Hostel, Milford Hill, telephone 327572, [8]. This is a 200-year-old building in secluded grounds and just a short walk from the heart of Salisbury. Open every day; reception open 7:30am-10:30pm. £15 (adult); £11 (under 18).

• Hillside B&B, [9]. Hillside B&B is in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside in a village called Odstock, around 3 miles south of Salisbury. As of Jan 2007: £27.50 for Single, £45 for Double / Twin, discounts for longer stays

• Edwardian Lodge (Edwardian Lodge), 59 Castle Road, Salisbury, SP1 3RH (head north from the town centre along Castle Street, Go straight under the roundabout onto Castle Road, it's on the right about 300 metres after the roundabout), ☎ +44 (0) 1722 413329, [10]. Guest house, halfway between the city centre and the castle of Old Sarum. single: £42, double £60, family £75.  edit

• Sarum College, 19 The Close (Cathedral Close, city centre), ☎ 44 (0)1722 424 800, [11]. Rare opportunity to stay inside Salisbury's Cathedral Close. City centre, yet quiet and just steps away from medieval cathedral. Rooms for all budgets. Premier rooms are refurbished and have uninterrupted views of Cathedral. £45-£105.  edit

Splurge

The White Hart, St John Street, Salisbury SP1 2SD, ☎ +44 (0) 1189714700. In an elegant Georgian building near the gates to the cathedral grounds. Excellent, upscale, b&b hotel. £150-£300.  edit

Contact

Phone

Salisbury's area code is 01722 when dialled from within the UK or +441722 from outside the UK.

• Stonehenge - the ancient monument about 15km from Salisbury. Started in the Neolithic era (about 2500BC) and completed in the Bronze Age. Iconic. You can get sightseeing buses straight there from the train station, or you can get buses from the bus station to Amesbury and walk from there (approx 3km)

• Excellent Maps of Salisbury City Centre