Discover Marlborough and Find Hotels

Marlborough offers visitors a range of things to explore: walking trails with different focuses, the river in the town centre and places with a long history. When choosing a hotel in Marlborough, you can consider whether trails, historic sights or both matter for your stay. The town brings these themes together without promising the same kind of visit from each one.

Trails and routes around Marlborough

The Hidden Marlborough Trail passes through lanes and footpaths away from the High Street, offering insights into the town’s history. The Marlborough Nature Trail has a different focus and is family-friendly. This gives you two distinct options to consider: historical insights along a trail and a family-friendly nature path.

Marlborough’s White Horse is also part of a walking trail that leads to the white horse hill figures in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Marlborough is also on the Great West Way, a 125-mile tourist route. These route connections differ in scale: the Hidden Marlborough Trail passes through the town’s lanes and footpaths, while the route to the white horse figures takes in places across Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. If you are interested in walking trails, these differences help distinguish between historical themes and those that extend beyond Marlborough.

History at the Mound and Merchant’s House

Marlborough Mound is a Neolithic monument mound built in the second half of the third millennium BC. From at least 1175, it was reused as the motte of Marlborough Castle and modified until the mid-14th century. This brings together a prehistoric construction and a later use as a castle motte at one site. The Mound also belongs to a group of very rare monuments. The sequence of events makes Marlborough’s different historical periods particularly easy to distinguish in this example.

Another chapter in the town’s history can be seen at Merchant’s House, built after the Great Fire of Marlborough in 1653. Inside, you will find wood panelling, brilliant wall paintings and an impressive oak staircase. In contrast to the Neolithic Mound, the house represents a much later period and has its own architectural details. Merchant’s House is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm; last admission is at 3 pm. Check these opening times before you travel so you can include admission in your day’s plans.

St Peter’s Church and the riverside

St Peter’s Church is on Marlborough’s High Street and now serves as a community centre. At certain times, tower tours are available, with views across the town. If the view is important to your plans, check the tour times before your visit.

The River Kennet, a chalk stream, flows through the town centre. Cooper’s Meadow is an open riverside space just off the High Street. The two places offer different ways to experience the river: the waterway running through the centre and an open space by the river near the High Street. Along with the trails and historic sites, they offer further aspects to consider when planning your stay in Marlborough.

Discover more destinations: Erlestoke, Steeple Ashton, Bradford On Avon, Chilmark, Stapleford, Potterne, Ogbourne St George, Edington

For the broader travel overview: Wiltshire.