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Exeter to Salisbury

[Return to the index for The West]

This road will traverse the counties of Dorset and Wiltshire, the core of King Alfred’s kingdom of
Wessex.

This is chalk land, cut deeply into valleys by rivers such as the Cerne, Frome, Ax, Exe or Char.

Indeed the rivers give rise to many of the place names in the region – Axminister, Axmouth,
Sidmouth, Exmouth and Exeter itself.

The countryside ranges from the wild heathlands of mid-Dorset – made famous by the novels of
Thomas Hardy – to the rolling chalk hills and sea girt cliffs on the southern coast. Then there’s
Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, home to a large number of ancient “constructions”, monuments such
as Woodhenge, Maumsbury Rings, Maiden Castle, Avebury Circle and the most famous of all,
Stonehenge.

There are two of Britain’s most outstanding cathedrals at Salisbury and Exeter, as well as
specialist museums for things like aircraft, automobiles and even fossils. There are great houses
like Stourhead, and Wilton House and castles like Sherborne Castle.

Thus, dear traveller, you could while away four or five days exploring this intriguing region. There
are two main travelling options here:

Click here for an interactive map of the area

Salisbury

1: Straight through from Exeter to Salisbury on the A303. But why? There are interesting
finds by taking the second option:

Route 1 on the map

2: Through Dorchester. A more interesting journey with much to see and do to distract you from
the pressures of time.

There are two stages to this part of the trip: Exeter to Dorchester, routes 2 and 3 on the map,

and Dorchester to Salisbury. Routes 4 and 5 on the map.