The Area
Our bit of Wiltshire
The Stables at Manor Farm are located in the pretty village of East Grafton in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We are only a mile from the Kennet and Avon Canal, the famous Crofton Beam Engines and under two miles from Wilton Windmill and Savernake Forest. The Canal and Forest offer fantastic traffic free walking and fabulous scenery all year round.
The market town of Marlborough is just 10 minutes by car (or a bit longer through the Forest by bike) and the ancient sites of Avebury, Stonehenge, Kennet Long Barrow, Silbury Hill and the Ridgeway are all within easy reach.
Biking, riding and walking
From the farm there is access to miles and miles of byways and bridleways across beautiful Wiltshire downland and local woodland. We have access to some of the best mountain bike routes around with stunning scenery and great off road tracks – we can give you some maps and tell you the best places to explore. For less extreme bike riding head towards Savernake Forest, along the Canal and the quite country lanes, visit Wilton Windmill on the way or stop for lunch at a local pub. Horse riders and walkers can go for miles using local tracks avoiding most roads. This part of Wiltshire is an unspoilt haven for wildlife, with red kites, hares, lapwing, barn owls, roe and fallow deer.
Other activities and days out
The Stables provides a brilliant location for visiting lots of well known places as well as plenty of less well known days out and activities. Lacock Abbey, Stonehenge, Avebury, Bowood House, The Hawk Conservancy, Longleat are all nearby.
If you fancy organising some outdoor activities there is plenty on offer - fly fishing (Manningford Fishery), golf (Marlborough and Tidworth), clay pigeon shooting (Lains Shooting School or Barbury Shooting School), riding stables (Pewsey Vale Riding Centre), outdoor karting (Thruxton).
We are a great base to use for visiting crop circles and the famous Wiltshire White Horses and we are also within easy reach of some lovely small towns and cities – Marlborough, Devizes, Hungerford, Salisbury and Bath.