Marlborough

Relaxed Guided Walks around the woods, downs and ancient sites of Wiltshire

Marlborough

Dates and Times: See our Dates Pages for more details
Prices and Discounts: Click here for our current Prices Page

M1 - Historical Tour of Marlborough Town Centre

A 60 - 75 minute guided tour of Marlborough Town centre, starting with the High Street, where we will see the diverse range of architecture ranging from the early 17th Century that makes up what is considered to be the widest High Street in England. Several excursions will take us into some of the side alleyways where we will see evidence of buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1653. During the tour we will see several ‘Blue Plaques’ on buildings signifying the importance of the building itself, or of a person associated with the building. Our tour will take us through ‘Patten Alley’ (where we will discover why this was so-named), past St. Mary’s Church, which bears damage from cannonballs during the First Civil War. Patten Alley takes us into The Green, where William Golding once lived. We travel down into The Parade, or ‘The Marsh’ as it was previously known, seeing the new road that eventually by-passed this entry to the High Street. A pleasant walk along the river Kennet allows us a view of two other ancient entries into the town, one of which will bring us back into the High Street for the end of our tour.

Distance:

1½ mls

Walk Time:

60 - 75 mins

Total Time:

60 - 70 mins

No of Climbs

Terrain:

Flat

Difficulty:

Very Easy - 1

Price Band:

Features:

M N

Day:

Mon- Fri Eve

Sat/Sun P.M .

M2 - Marlborough Town Centre, including major routes into the Town

This tour is an extended version of M1 (above) which allows us to wander further afield to view the external areas of Marlborough College (see Tour MC below if you would like a full tour of the College), the two medieval churches at each end of the High Street, the various entries into the town, the site of the Monastery, and the fords that crossed the Kennet at various places.

Distance:

2½ mls

Walk Time:

100 mins

Total Time:

100 mins

No of Climbs

Terrain:

Flat

Difficulty:

Very Easy - 1

Price Band:

Features:

M N

Day:

Mon- Fri Eve

Sat/Sun P.M .

MP - Ye Olde Pub Crawl of Marlborough

A prolific number of Inns, Hostelries and Public Houses have been recorded in Marlborough since at least 1502, this being as the town is situated on what was the old London to Bristol road. There are at least 130 such inns with several of the older ones still open for business. Join our Path Leader for a varied tour of Marlborough and some of the side streets to see where many of the inns were situated, hear of their famous visitors, and see the architecture of the buildings that stiff exist from the mid 17th Century. It is possible that the Path Leader may invite you into some of the buildings, so please be prepared to dig deep to aid the his or her thirst!

Distance:

1½ mls

Walk Time:

90 mins

Total Time:

90 mins

No of Climbs

Terrain:

Climb - 30 ft

Difficulty:

Easy - 1

Price Band:

Features:

M N

Day:

Mon- Fri Eve

Sat/Sun P.M

MF - Full Tour of Marlborough with St Peter’s Church Tower/Merchant House

This tour combines Tour M2 above, but includes a visit the the Merchant’s House in the High Street, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1653 and rebuilt in the same year, and a climb to the top of St. Peter’s Church Tower, with it’s fine views over the High Street, the southern area of the town, Savernake Forest and much of the College buildings. On route to the top of the tower you will see the Priest`s Room, the Ringing Chamber, the Clock Room and the Old Bell Frame. Your Path Leader will give a commentary about Marlborough from atop the Tower.

Distance:

2 mls

Walk Time:

120 mins

Total Time:

120 mins

No of Climbs

Terrain:

Climb - 80 ft

Difficulty:

Moderate - 2

Price Band:

Features:

Day:

Mon- Fri Eve

Sat/Sun P.M

Marlborough - the centre for Wiltshire Walks, and because of its geographic location, a town through which most everyone will pass or visit during their lifetime. But very few people take time to check on the history of the town, or to investigate the little alleyways that run off the famous High Street. Inscribed on the Marlborough Coat of Arms is “Here lies the bones of Merlin”; the name Marlborough being reportedly derived from ‘Merlin’s Barrow’, but is more like to be either ‘Maere Leah’ - a boundary meadow or ‘Marl Barrow’ meaning a Mound or Mount of chalk, referring to the Mound in the College grounds.

We have several Guided Tours of Marlborough - a of which can be arranged as late afternoon or early evening strolls, but depending on demand, may be arranged as a daytime Custom Tour.