A report on Salisbury Plain

Stonehenge, the most famous antiquity on Salisbury Plain
Rough map of military training area (green) on Salisbury Plain within Wiltshire (blue) (it accounts for about half the area of Salisbury Plain)
Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain
Military use makes some areas of the plain inaccessible to the public.
Typical grassland at Netheravon Down.
The burnt-tip orchid (Neotinea ustulata) can be found on Salisbury Plain
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly (Hamearis lucina)
The cuckoo bee Nomada armata
The fairy shrimp Chirocephalus diaphanus
The stone curlew

Chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering 300 sqmi.

- Salisbury Plain
Stonehenge, the most famous antiquity on Salisbury Plain

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Stonehenge

Wiltshire

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Historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of 3485 km2.

Historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of 3485 km2.

Stonehenge
Cherhill White Horse, east of Calne
The County Ground, Swindon is the home of Swindon Town, the only football league club in Wiltshire
A bridge over the River Avon at Bradford-on-Avon
The flight of 16 locks at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon Canal

Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles (which together are a UNESCO Cultural and World Heritage site ) and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army.

A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century

Salisbury

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Cathedral city in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 40,302, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne.

Cathedral city in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 40,302, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne.

A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century
Salisbury viewed from Old Sarum
The Great West Front of Salisbury Cathedral
The 15th-century Doom painting in St Thomas' church
A picture of Minster Street, c. 1870
Secret Spitfire Memorial, view from the south
Salisbury Guildhall, completed in 1795, is now the meeting place of the City Council
Queen Elizabeth Gardens, showing part of the River Avon diverted through the gardens
The 15th-century Poultry Cross marked the section of the market trading in poultry
Butchers Row in the city centre
Salisbury High Street
St Martin's Church (Church of England)
Salisbury Museum, housed in the King's House.
Salisbury bus station in 2010 (since closed)
Salisbury Racecourse with the cathedral in the distance

Salisbury is in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain.

River Avon, Hampshire

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In the south of England, rising in Wiltshire, flowing through that county's city of Salisbury and then west Hampshire, before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole conurbation of Dorset.

In the south of England, rising in Wiltshire, flowing through that county's city of Salisbury and then west Hampshire, before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole conurbation of Dorset.

The start of the lower half, near Fordingbridge
The 17th-century navigation channel near Britford is still in water
Longford Castle overlooks the river
Hale Park
Breamore House

The two branches merge at Upavon, flowing southwards across Salisbury Plain through Durrington, Amesbury and Salisbury.

Culver Down, Isle of Wight

Downland

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Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs.

Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs.

Culver Down, Isle of Wight
Galium verum (L.) Lady's Bedstraw, a typical English chalk downland plant

The largest area of downland in southern England is formed by Salisbury Plain, mainly in Wiltshire.

Stonehenge

Amesbury

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Town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England.

Town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England.

Stonehenge
The Red House

It sits in the River Avon valley on the southern fringes of Salisbury Plain and has historically been considered an important river crossing area on the road from London to Warminster and Exeter.

Location of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB in the UK

Cranborne Chase

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Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Location of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB in the UK
Ashmore pond
Badbury Rings hill fort

The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, and the Dorset Downs to the south west.

Stonehenge in July 2007

Stonehenge

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Stonehenge in July 2007
Stonehenge in July 2007
Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured.
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.
Graffiti on the sarsen stones include ancient carvings of a dagger and an axe
Sketch showing the tongue and groove and mortise and tenon joints used in the outer Sarsen circle
Plan of the central stone structure today; after Johnson 2008
Computer rendering of the overall site
The southwest face of the Heel Stone in May 2016
The sun behind the Heel Stone on the Summer solstice, shortly after sunrise
The oldest known depiction of Stonehenge, from the second quarter of the 14th century. A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Roman de Brut by Wace in the British Library (Egerton 3028).
The earliest-known realistic painting of Stonehenge, drawn on site with watercolours by Lucas de Heere between 1573 and 1575
Farm waggons near the site, c. 1885
10th Battalion, CEF marches past the site, winter 1914–15 (the First World War); Background: Preservation work on stones, propped up by timbers
Sunrise at Stonehenge on the summer solstice, 21 June 2005
Dancing inside the stones, 1984 Stonehenge Free Festival
Stonehenge at sunset
The visitor centre at Stonehenge
17th-century depiction of Stonehenge from the Atlas van Loon
As painted by John Constable, 1835
An early photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
The monument from a similar angle in 2008 showing the extent of reconstruction
A contemporary newspaper depiction of the 1920 restoration

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, 2 mi west of Amesbury.

Church of St Thomas à Becket

Tilshead

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Village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire in Southern England, about 9 mi northwest of the town of Amesbury.

Village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire in Southern England, about 9 mi northwest of the town of Amesbury.

Church of St Thomas à Becket

It is close to the geographical centre of Salisbury Plain, on the A360 road approximately midway between the villages of Shrewton and Market Lavington, and is near the source of the River Till.

The Vale of Pewsey as viewed from the east end of Etchilhampton Hill.

Vale of Pewsey

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Area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.

Area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.

The Vale of Pewsey as viewed from the east end of Etchilhampton Hill.

The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury Plain to the south from the Marlborough Downs to the north.

A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century, housed at Salisbury Cathedral

Old Sarum

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Now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury.

Now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury.

A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century, housed at Salisbury Cathedral
An 1829 sketch of Old Sarum by John Constable, displaying the site of the abandoned hillfort
A 1916 plan of Old Sarum by the Ordnance Survey (300 ft ≈ 92 m)
Aerial view of Old Sarum
The present ruins: the exposed foundations of the cathedral in the foreground and the Norman central motte behind
The exposed foundations of the cathedral

This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire and the Bishop of Salisbury finally led to the removal of the church into the nearby plain.