Old Sarum

Old Sarum is the original Salisbury, and standing on its mound is the quickest way to understand why the city moved. The site, about two miles north of the present city, began as an Iron Age hillfort whose great circular ramparts, raised around 400 BC, you can still walk. The Romans and Saxons used it in turn, and after the Norman Conquest William the Conqueror raised a castle on the central mound, within an inner ditch, and a cathedral rose beside it, giving a small fortified town of soldiers, priests and servants. The two communities quarrelled, the hilltop was dry, windy and cramped, and in the early thirteenth century the bishop moved the cathedral downhill to the river meadows, where Salisbury Cathedral was begun in 1220. By Tudor times, no houses on the hilltop were inhabited, and the town that had returned two members to Parliament for centuries became the most famous of England's rotten boroughs. Today the visit is an easy, atmospheric walk. You cross the outer rampart, enter the vast ditch, climb to the Norman castle ruins and look down on the outlines of the first cathedral, set out as low walls in the grass. From the mound the view runs across the plain to the spire of the later cathedral, so the whole story is visible in a single glance. There is a small visitor centre and shop, and the site is open daily with last entry before closing.

What to look for: the scale of the earthworks is the first surprise, because the ramparts and the deep dry ditch make a landscape of their own, and walking the full circuit of the outer bank is a bracing half-hour in a good wind. Inside, the central mound carries the remains of the castle, including the gatehouse and the courtyard walls, and the footprint of the Norman cathedral is the real draw, showing how small and cramped the first church was compared with the great building that replaced it. Interpretation panels and a short audio guide explain the layout, and English Heritage runs events through the year, including family trails.

Getting there and timing: Old Sarum lies just off the A345 north of the city and is reachable in about ten minutes by taxi or by a short bus ride from the centre, with a car park on site. The site is open daily, from mid-morning to late afternoon in winter, with last entry before closing, and tickets are cheaper when booked online in advance. English Heritage members are admitted free, and the site combines well with the Stonehenge visit if you hold a membership. Wear sturdy shoes, because the paths are grassy, and bring a coat, because the mound is exposed.

Making a half-day: pair Old Sarum with the cathedral and the Close in the afternoon, so that you see the old site first and the replacement second, which is the order that makes the story clearest. Families will enjoy the open space for running about and the climb to the mound, and photographers should come late in the day, when the low sun picks out the ramparts and the spire can be seen glowing on the horizon. A picnic is easy in good weather, and the site is also a fine place to learn what the area looked like before the city.