Key facts
OS Grid Reference: SU168434
What3words: ///explores.plotter.vows
Postcode: SP4
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: East Wiltshire
Bulford
Bulford is a well-equipped, peaceful village in the Avon Valley near Salisbury Plain. It’s around 10 miles – a 25-minute drive – from Salisbury and all its facilities and travel links – and around 35 minutes to Warminster. Salisbury Reds operates a route to Amesbury and Salisbury.
Bulford has plenty of its own facilities including a GP surgery, a pre-school nursery, a parish website, a village hall, three public recreation and play areas with a tennis court, basketball pitch, and football field. There are supermarkets, allotments, a post office and pharmacy and three primary schools.
The flint and brick local, The Rose and Crown in the High Street, serves traditional pub grub and has a large beer garden often screening major sporting events for locals.
The village has a long and cherished relationship with the Army that goes back to the turn of the century when the Bulford Military Camp was built on Salisbury Plain. The nearby Bulford Kiwi is a chalk carving on Beacon Hill, created by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force while they were waiting to be sent home at the end of WWI.
History
There’s evidence of Roman and Saxon settlements around Bulford, whose name is believed to have originated from ‘Bull’s Ford’ referring to a crossing point of the River Avon where bulls were driven across.
In more recent times, Bulford has been closely associated with the military and Salisbury Plain. Bulford Camp was built in the early 20th Century, initially as a military training camp, and brought significant changes to the village.
The Grade I listed Church of St Leonards is from the late 12th Century.
Walking and cycling
The area around Bulford is perfect for cycling and walking. If you’d like to explore the area on foot, then check out this trail from Komoot.
The Bulford Down Loop is just over 5½ miles and takes in views over firing ranges where you can often see tanks lumbering in the distance. You can also see the Bulford Kiwi, carved by New Zealand soldiers in 1919 while waiting to be taken home after the Great War. The Kiwi covers 1½ acres – the best viewing point is from the Bulford Droveway.
