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The remains of Old Sarum castle on the hillSimon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0

What to do · Salisbury

Old Sarum, the first Salisbury

Ruins · 1 h 30 · English Heritage · castle and cathedral on an Iron Age hill

InformationEnglish Heritage ticket; cheaper online up to the day before
Price
English Heritage ticket; cheaper online up to the day before
Duration
1 h 30
Season
All year; check the winter opening days
Who it's for
All ages; embankments with room to run

A hill ringed by Iron Age ditches, 3 km north of Salisbury, where Romans, Saxons and Normans settled one after another. The Normans built a castle and the first cathedral; in the 13th century the bishop moved down to the valley and founded the Salisbury of today. What remains are the castle walls, the outline of the cathedral marked out in the grass and views across the plain in which you can see the new spire.

It belongs to English Heritage: buy online up to the day before and it costs less. You can get here on the Stonehenge bus, which stops here, by car, or on foot along the Avon valley in an hour.

With young childrenAs a family

Directions See all of Salisbury

Opening hours and prices can change: check them before you go.

Round off the plan

Where to eat, where to stay and what else to do

To eat nearby

Salisbury's oldest tavern

The Haunch of Venison

Bar · Salisbury · €€€€

What to order: a pint in the bar downstairs and, if you eat, some game in the dining room upstairs.

The Old Mill dining room, with timber beams© The Old Mill Salisbury15th-century mill on the River Nadder

The Old Mill

Restaurant · Salisbury · €€€€

What to order: Sunday lunch or something light on the terrace by the water, after the walk across the meadows.

To stay nearby

One of the rooms at the Red Lion© The Red Lion HotelHotel

The Red Lion Hotel

Milford Street · 60 rooms · 13th-century inn

Why we like it: A former 13th-century coaching inn in the centre, with 60 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, afternoon tea and its own car park.

View details
Sarum College, in the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral© Sarum CollegeSmall hotel

Sarum College

Inside the cathedral close · Simple rooms · Breakfast included

Why we like it: Simple rooms, nearly all with a bathroom, in a college in the cathedral close, with a cooked breakfast included and the gates closed to the public at night.

View details

Useful services

More to do nearby

Itineraries

Features in these plans

Aerial view of the fortified hill of Old Sarum, a stop on the bus
Day itinerary Stonehenge and the Magna Carta Salisbury · 5 stops

Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/england/salisbury/things-to-do/old-sarum