
Key facts
OS grid ref: SU004289
What3words: ///whispers.dressings.revise
Postcode: SP3
Post town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: South West Wiltshire
Fovant
Fovant sits on the south side of the stunning Nadder Valley, in the Cranborne Chase National Landscape (formerly called AONB) surrounded by meadows, chalk downs and ancient woodlands.
The village is around a half-hour drive from the cathedral city of Salisbury with its shops, restaurants, bars, heritage, culture and amenities. The train from here to Waterloo takes less than 90 minutes.
It’s around 20 minutes from the historic market town of Shaftesbury and Tisbury, the liveliest of the Nadder Valley Villages with lots of amenities, is a five-minute hop away. Salisbury Reds operate a bus service here.
Fovant has a vibrant community, with a village website and The Village Buzz, a magazine published monthly with news and events. The village hall hosts lots of activities, from classes, children’s parties, quiz nights and music evenings, to coffee mornings and craft fairs. There’s also a visiting library, a visiting fish and chip van and the volunteer-run ‘Tisbus’ which organises community shopping runs. There’s also the Fovant Store and Post Office, a GP surgery, pharmacy and garage.
But Fovant, of course, is most famous for its collection of huge Regimental Cap Badges carved into the hillside by soldiers garrisoned locally during WWI.
History
Fovant is rich with history, most notably as a military camp in the Great War and for the ‘Fovant Badges’ carved into the hillside above the village.
Rows of silent War Graves can be found in Fovant and other nearby churchyards, evidence that during WWI the area housed a military camp. Thousands of men were based locally, training for war, or in transit to or from the Western Front. Many, of course, never returned, and in memory of all those who died, regiments carved their cap badges into the sides of the chalk hills.
During WWII, the badges were allowed to become overgrown to disguise landmarks from German aircraft. After the war they were restored by volunteers and can still be clearly seen today.
As well as this 20th Century history, there is evidence dating back many hundreds of years of Bronze Age settlements and Roman influence, but it wasn’t until Saxon times when the village was inhabited properly. The Saxon Land Charters of AD 901 and AD 904, each mention Fobbefunta, the Saxon name for Fovant.
Walking and cycling
The area around Fovant is stunning and there’s a wealth of walks, cycle trails and horse rides. But we’d recommend the Fovant Badges walk if you want to see the carvings first hand, and to quietly reflect on the men who carved them and those who gave their life to protect ours today.
The Fovant Village website features a walks guide from local Mike Harden, with 18 routes criss-crossing the village.