PARISH councillors in Pewsey are hoping for a tourist boom as a result of plans to link the village with one of the country's most used rights of way.
The possibility of linking Pewsey with the Ridgeway long distance path is put forward in a Wiltshire County Council document.
At a parish council meeting on Monday, vice chairman Coun Phil Stevens said that the plan had exciting ramifications for the village.
One suggestion was to create a link between the Ridgeway national trail at Avebury and Pewsey. This would enable walkers to arrive by train at Pewsey and use the proposed link route to the Ridgeway.
Coun Stevens said the plan would remove cars from the already congested car parks in Avebury because walkers could catch trains to Pewsey instead.
He said that the suggested Ridgeway link opened up possibilities of new trade for the pubs, tea rooms and other businesses in Pewsey.
The parish council would press for the Ridgeway link to start from the statue of King Alfred so that walkers would come into the centre of the village to begin their trek.
He said: "If the walk starts from King Alfred people will have to come into the village and hopefully bring trade with them."
He revealed there are also plans for a 14 kilometre King Alfred's Trail walk around the Pewsey Vale, starting from the statue in the Market Place in Pewsey.
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