Ham offers several reasons to stay: thatched cottages around the village green, historic buildings, a long-distance walking route, and distinctive landscape and nature features. When planning your trip, it is worth considering the village centre and the Mid Wilts Way as separate focal points. This can help you choose where to stay based on whether you would rather explore local history or plan a longer walk.

Village Green and Historic Buildings

The thatched cottages cluster around the village green. The Church of All Saints has building phases dating from the 13th and 14th centuries and is Grade I listed. Five chest tombs dating from the 18th century stand in the churchyard, north of the church tower. At the church, historic building phases and a group of tombs from a later century are therefore close together.

Rose Cottage adds a house with origins in the 16th century to this picture. In front of the building are the remains of a device for winding a well rope. This is a different scale from the church’s building phases: the focus here is on a single cottage and a specific piece of mechanical evidence. Together, these details give the village several distinct historical points of interest.

The Wansdyke is also among the named landmarks of the village’s history. Remains of this Saxon defensive earthwork can be followed along the public footpath Old Dyke Lane, on the eastern parish boundary. This connection to a route differs from the historic buildings around the village green: here, the village’s history is linked to a specifically public footpath.

Walking the Mid Wilts Way

The Mid Wilts Way starts and finishes in Ham, is 68 miles long, and can be walked in either direction. Ham is therefore both the starting point and the endpoint of the route. Its length and the choice of direction are important considerations for anyone thinking of including the walk in their travel plans. Check current route conditions before setting out, as they may change.

Landscape and Nature

Ham lies at the eastern end of the Vale of Pewsey and within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. These connections place the village both in the Vale and within a named landscape. They complement the local historic buildings with a regional landscape context.

Ham Hill reaches an elevation of 256 metres. Ham Hill Nature Reserve is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The reserve is home to the Musk Orchid, a nationally rare species found at very few sites. So, alongside village history and walking, a designated protected area and a rare orchid are also among the nature-related considerations when planning a trip.

Choosing the Focus of Your Stay

If you are looking for a holiday cottage in Ham, you could first consider what matters most for your trip: the historic buildings in the village, the Mid Wilts Way, or the landscape and nature. At 68 miles, the walking route is on a different scale from a stay focused mainly on historical details. This comparison can help you choose Ham based on what you want from your trip.

Discover more destinations: Broad Chalke, Edington, Christian Malford, Stanley, Malmesbury, Devizes, Westbury, Collingbourne Kingston.

For the main travel overview: Wiltshire.