London Salisbury

Salisbury’s winding alleyways and old-fashioned cinema are a step back in time. Despite its tourist popularity, Salisbury retains its small-town charm. Market Square’s pavement cafes and tea shops are lively, and a quick glance down any street reveals facades dating from the Middle Ages to the industrial era. Town life spirals outward from the market, overlooked by the towering cathedral spire.

Trains: Trains (☎08457 484 950) from London Waterloo (1hr., 2 per hr., £26.30).
Taxis: Cabs cruise by the train station. 505050 Value Cars (☎505 050) runs 24hr.
Bike Rental: Hayball Cycles Sport, 26-30 Winchester St. (☎07909 883 006), across from Coaches and Horses. £10 per day, £5 overnight, £65 per week; deposit £25 per bike. Open M-Sa 9am-5pm; bikes due back at 5pm. TIC has suggested routes.

Practical Information

Tourist Information Centre: Fish Row (☎334 956, accommodations booking 01271 336 066; www.visitsalisbury.com), the Guildhall, in Market Sq. Free maps. Books rooms for a 10% deposit. Open June-Sept. M-Sa 9:30am-6pm, Su 10:30am-4:30pm; Oct.-May M-Sa 9:30am-5pm. 1hr. guided walks leave Apr.-Oct. M-Th and Sa-Su 11am, F 11am and 8pm; Nov.-Mar. Sa-Su 11am. £3.50-4, children £1.50-2.
Banks: Banks are everywhere. Thomas Cook, 18-19 Queen St. (☎08701 111 111). Open M-W and F-Sa 9am-5:30pm, Th 10am-5:30pm. HSBC, corner of Market Pl. and Minster St., has a 24hr. ATM.
Police: Wilton Rd. (☎411 444).
Pharmacy: Boots, 51 Silver St. (☎333 233). Open M-Tu and Th-Sa 8:30am-5:30pm, W 9am-5:30pm, Su 10:30am-4:30pm.
Hospital: Central Health Clinic, Avon Approach (☎328 595).
Internet Access: Salisbury Library, Market Pl. (☎324 145). Open M 10am-7pm, Tu-W and F 9am-7pm, Th and Sa 9am-5pm. 30min. free Internet with photo ID. Internet Cafe, 14 Endless St. (☎421 328). Open M-Sa 10am-7pm.
Post Office: 24 Castle St. (☎08457 223 344), at Chipper Ln. Bureau de change inside. Open M-F 8:30am-5:30pm. Postal Code: SP1 1AB.

Accommodations And Camping

Salisbury’s proximity to Stonehenge breeds numerous guest houses and B&Bs, most of them starting at around £35 per person. Ask for an accommodations guide or free booking assistance from the TIC. Book ahead in summer.

Farthings B&B, 9 Swaynes Close (☎330 749; www.farthingsbandb.co.uk), 10min. from the city center. Comfortable retreat with large, floral rooms and subtle touches of home. Smaller rooms share a bath. Continental breakfast included. May-Sept. singles £32; doubles £56. Oct.-Apr. singles £25; doubles £46. Cash only.
YHA Salisbury, Milford Hill House, Milford Hill (☎327 572), on the edge of town. 70 beds. Kitchen and TV lounge. Breakfast included. Laundry £3. Internet access 7p per min. Book in advance, especially Easter-Oct. Dorms £17.50, under 18 £14. MC/V.
78 Belle Vue Rd., (☎329 477), on a residential road near the cathedral. Victorian terrace house offers 2 rooms with shared bath. Single £23, double £45. Cash only.
Hudson’s Field, Castle Rd. (☎320 713). Between Salisbury and Stonehenge, 30min. from city center. Clean, modern camping facilities. Vehicle curfew 11pm. Open Mar.-Oct. Tents £5.40, adults £5.30, children £2.50. Electricity £2.60. MC/V.

Food And Pubs

Even jaded pub-dwellers can find a pleasant surprise among Salisbury’s 60-odd watering holes. Most pubs serve food (£4-6) and many have live music. Market Square, in the town center, fills from May to December on Tuesdays and Saturdays for the charter market and on Wednesdays for the farmers’ market (open 7am-4pm). The TIC has the market schedule for each summer. A Sainsbury’s supermarket is at The Maltings. (☎332 282. Open M-Sa 7am-10pm, Su 10am-4pm.)

Harper’s “Upstairs Restaurant,” 6-7 Ox Rd., Market Sq. (☎333 118). Inventive English and international dishes (£7-10). 2-course early-bird dinner before 8pm £7.50. Open June-Sept. M-F noon-2pm and 6-9:30pm, Sa noon-2pm and 6-10pm, Su 6-9pm; Oct.-May closed Su. AmEx/MC/V.
Alchemy @ the Chough, Blue Boar Row (☎330 032). Find a couch in one of the many nooks and crannies. Original art and signs still hang on the walls. The Alchemy mix (£10) is a platter of finger foods. Entrees £8-10. Open M and W noon-11pm, Tu 11am-11pm, Th-F noon-midnight, Sa 11am-midnight, Su noon-10:30pm. MC/V.
Coach and Horses, 39 Winchester St. (☎414 319). Traditional pub food (£8-14) and generously poured drinks (pints £2.70) flow nonstop, drawing families during the day and a louder crowd at night. Salisbury’s oldest pub, open since 1382. For extra room, check out the beer garden in the back. Open M-Sa 11:30am-11pm, Su noon-10:30pm. Kitchen open M-Sa 11:30am-9:30pm, Su noon-9pm. MC/V.
Salisbury Chocolate Bar & Patisserie, 33 High St. (☎327 422). Indulge your sweet tooth with luscious hot chocolate (£2) or scrumptious pastries (£3-4), like the decadent ganache-filled Fudgey cake. Open daily 9:30am-5pm. MC/V.
The Old Mill Hotel, Town Path (☎327 517). At the end of a 10min. walk along Town Path through the Harnem Water Meadow, in a 12th-century mill. Entrees can be pricey (£13-17), but the pub food is just as delicious and more reasonably priced (£6-8). Open M-Sa 11am-11pm, Su noon-10:30pm. Kitchen open M-Th noon-2pm and 7-9pm, F-Sa 11am-11pm, Su noon-10:30pm. AmEx/MC/V.

Sights

Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral, built between 1220 and 1258, rises from its grassy close to a neck-breaking height of 404 ft., making it medieval England’s highest spire and one of Britain’s most impressive displays of Gothic architecture. The bases of the marble pillars bend inward under the strain of 6400 tons of limestone. Nearly 700 years have left the building in need of repair, and scaffolding shrouds parts of the outer walls that are under extensive renovation expected to be completed by 2015. A tiny stone figure rests in the nave—legend has it that either a boy bishop is entombed on the spot or that it covers the heart of Richard Poore, founder of the cathedral. The adjoining Chapter House holds the best preserved of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. The text is still legible, which is great for people who can read medieval Latin. Spot the punctures at the bottom of the vellum where King John’s seal was once attached—the priceless artifact was inadvertently chucked with the weekly trash. Ask a guide for a list of the relief figures in the detailed friezes. (☎555 120. Cathedral open daily 7:15am-6:15pm. Limited hours in winter. Free tours every 30min.: May-Oct. M-Sa 9:30am-4:45pm, Su 4-6:15pm; Nov.-Feb. M-Sa 10am-4pm. 1hr. roof and tower tours: May-Sept. M-Sa 11:15am, 2:15, 3:15, and 5pm; Su 4:30pm. June-Aug. M-Sa 11am, 2, 3, and 6:30pm; Su 4:30pm. Requested donation £4, concessions £3.50. Roof and tower tour £4.50, concessions £3.50.)

Salisbury And South Wiltshire Museum. The museum, in the Salisbury Cathedral’s close, is home to a mixture of artwork ranging from Turner’s watercolors to period clothing and doll houses. The worthwhile Stonehenge exhibit gives extensive history, and displays the bones of the mysterious archer buried at Stonehenge around the time the first stones were raised. (65 The Close, along the West Walk. ☎332 151. Open July-Aug. M-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 2-5pm; Sept.-June M-Sa 10am-5pm. £5, under 16 £1.50, families £9.50, concessions £3.50.)

Nightlife And Festivals

Read the sign outside The Chapel, 30 Milford St., carefully before trying to enter. It states, in clear mathematical terms: “no effort=no entry.” Loosely translated—dress to impress. With three dance floors and hot music mixes, this club advertises itself as one of the UK’s best. Without much competition in Salisbury, it can surely claim to be the best in town. (☎504 255; www.thechapelnightclub.co.uk. Cover W £2; Th £4, ladies free until 11:30pm; F £8; Sa £10. Open W-Th 10:30pm-2:30am, F-Sa 10:30pm-3am.) MOLOKO, 5 Bridge St., is a chain bar, but still one of the most popular hangouts in town. There’s an endless list of vodkas (£2.50-4.50) and a stylish crowd. (☎507 050. F special £1 house vodkas 7-9pm. M-Th noon-midnight, F-Sa noon-2am, Su 3-10:30pm.)

Salisbury’s repertory theatre company puts on shows at the Playhouse, Malthouse Ln., over the bridge off Fisherton St. (☎320 333; www.salisburyplayhouse.com. Box office open M-Sa 10am-6pm, until 8pm on performance days. Tickets £8.50-17. -price tickets available same day.) The Salisbury Arts Centre, Bedwin St., hosts music and theatre events year-round. (☎321 744. Box office open Tu-Sa 10am-4pm. Tickets from £5.) During the summer, enjoy free Sunday concerts in various parks; call the TIC for info. The Salisbury International Arts Festival features dance exhibitions, music, and wine tasting for two weeks in late May and early June. Contact the Festival Box Office at the Playhouse or the TIC for a program. (☎320 333; www.salisburyfestival.co.uk. Tickets from £2.50.)