Corsham Court a film settingVisitors are spoilt for choice when it comes to looking for somewhere to visit in North Wiltshire.

Half an hour's drive from ancient Avebury and Silbury Hill to the east, and half an hour's drive from Georgian Bath to the west, Chippenham is ideally placed for visitors wishing to sample both rural tranquillity and historic towns.

Beautiful villages, grand country houses and picturesque countryside are all within a stone's throw of our busy market town.

North Wiltshire's most famous villages are Lacock and the ever popular Castle Combe but there are plenty more rural beauty spots besides including Biddestone with its charming village duck pond, Slaughterford, buried away in the Bybrook valley, and the Cotswold villages of Marshfield and Colerne, with their handsome stone houses.

Chippenham is also an ideal location for walkers. With the rolling chalk landscape of the Marlborough Downs to the east and the hilly dry-stone walled Cotswolds to the west, as well as a myriad of public footpaths criss-crossing the landscape, there are many unspoilt places to discover.

The town is also situated on the National Cycleway. The all-weather path, complete with two new bridges, links the town with Calne and Avebury in one direction, and Lacock and Melksham in the other.

For country house enthusiasts, Bowood House and Lacock Abbey are both within ten minutes drive of the town.

Corsham Court is another architectural gem will worth a visit. The house starred in the film Remains of the Day, and is famous for its beautiful grounds and the numerous peacocks roaming the gardens.

The house is open at weekends only during winter, 2pm4.30pm, except in December when the house is closed. From March Corsham Court is open daily except Mondays and Fridays from 2pm5.30pm.

Corsham is also well worth a visit. Television producers recently used the town centre as a setting for The Mayor of Casterbridge and the town's history in the stone and wool industries is celebrated in the Corsham Heritage Centre, in Arnold House on the High Street.

The magnificent Grade I Listed almshouses were recently renovated and include a schoolroom now open to the public.

Malmesbury is a short journey away from Chippenham and offers the visitor a wealth of attractions, including the famous Abbey House Gardens, the remains of Malmesbury Abbey and the historic Warden and Freeman's Courthouse.