Key facts
OS grid ref: ST952396
Postcode: BA12
Post town: Warminster
What3words: ///depth.twinkled.magazine
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: South West Wiltshire
Boyton
Boyton, which sits on the banks of the River Wylye so perfect for fly-fishing, has a timeless air. Surrounded by lush, green countryside and rolling downs in the Cranborne Chase and West Wilts Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), it includes the hamlet of Corton.
The village may be small and peaceful, but it’s only half a mile from the A36. Warminster with its train station is about a 15-minute drive away, and it’s just over half an hour to 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.
The manor house, Boyton Manor built in 1618, was briefly home to the youngest son of Queen Victoria, Prince Leopold.
The Ginger Piggery is a collection of artisan makers, a farm shop, butchers and riverside café, The Trough. It has a strict ‘local only’ policy for the dishes sourced from a 48-mile radius from more than 100 different suppliers. They also host farm tours and butchery demonstrations and The Four Feathers Shooting School.
Great Ridge Wood, one of the largest woodlands in south Wiltshire and designated a County Wildlife Site, is nearby and has great walks. Legend has it that highwayman, Jack Hag, lived in the woods preying on coaches on the London to Exeter road until locals hunted him down and hanged him from a giant oak tree. It became known as ‘Hag’s Oak’ and when the tree came down in a storm in 2005, an old “rusty cast iron plaque was revealed deep within the tree” with just one letter still visible, an ‘H’.
History
Prehistoric sites in the parish include Corton Long Barrow, and the Domesday Book recorded 17 households at Boyton and six at Corton.
There are records of a church at Boyton in the 12th Century and the parish church of the Blessed Mary is a Grade I listed building.
Walking and cycling
Boyton is National Cycle Route 24 and the area has stunning walks, including the Wylye Valley Walk, which takes you through some of the most picturesque parts of the countryside.
The area around Boyton and Corton is stunning, a vast landscape with patchwork fields and big skies. If you’d like to explore it on foot, here’s a walk from AllTrails, that’s about 4½ miles.