What's tops in Warminster?

A recent blog described arriving in Warminster on a wet Sunday afternoon.  The blogger had walked round the town, found it  overflowing with hairdressers but not found anything to do - so ended  with a declaration never to visit Warminster again.

 Well, maybe a wet Sunday afternoon in winter is not the best time to explore a small market town in Wiltshire but this negative attitude set Warminsterpeople thinking what was worthwhile in our town.

 With January and February behind us – and hopefully the worst of the weather –  thoughts can turn to getting out and about again.  Warminsterpeople has come up with a list of ten places to visit – and the first five outings cost nothing.

1 Take the Civic Trust Town Trail and follow the blue plaques around the town learning about its buildings - leaflet available at the Warminster Information Centre.

2 Visit Dewey Museum in the Library building – in particular to look at its amazing collection of fossils. 

3 Visit Chapel of St Lawrence – historic and unusual as it belongs to the people of the town and is not part of any diocese – and unlike some churches open every day.

4  Take a walk through the town's Lake Pleasure Gardens en route to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Smallbrook Nature Reserve – an easy trip accessible from the town centre, with a play park and skate board park on the way.

5  Walk on any part of the Longleat estate – to Heaven’s Gate in particular.  

And now some suggestions for those wth money to spend:

 6 For top Warminster eating out prices surely the destination        must be the Bishopstrow House Hotel – a place where guests arrive in private helicopters?

  7 More realistically, price-wise,  Warminsterpeople hears that currently  the top place to eat in Warminster is the Weymouth Arms in Emwell Street.

 8  For live entertainment check out what’s on at the Athenaeum   Centre.  For a small town the standards here are consistently high.

  9  For a genuine shopping experience visit Cordens, the hardware shop in the High Street, where individual wooden drawers are listed. 

  10 For those on a limited budget, one of the best things about   Warminster must be its range of charity shops and things second  hand: an excellent book shop run by the Warminster Lions in George  Street, the Frock Shop in High Street is a fashion shop with designer names at high street prices -  and an interesting collection of antique shops stretches along Silver Street.

  Any other ideas for Warminster’s top ten attractions?