Residents of Wiltshire are blessed to have winding towpaths and wooded valleys on their doorstep in arguably one of England's most beautiful counties.

Wiltshire is a mostly rural county, dominated by rolling hills and dotted with postcard-perfect villages and traditional market towns.

Among the county's most notable landmarks are the astonishing stone circles of Stonehenge near the medieval city of Salisbury and also Avebury. 

You may recognise certain views from recent films and TV.

We have been treated to stunning weather over the past few weeks, and although we have a thunderstorm warning for Sunday, do not let that dissuade you from venturing out beforehand.

Here we list some of the best walks to try out in and around Wiltshire, as per Countryfile:

Stonehenge King's view circular walk

3.0 miles/4.8 km | 2 hours | moderate

This walk explores the chalk downland at the heart of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.

From Bronze Age burial mounds to ceremonial pathways, Britain's most famous prehistoric landscape is crammed with globally important archaeology, as well as beautiful vistas.

There's also an array of flora and fauna to look out for, including hares, deer, birds, butterflies and orchids.

Savernake Forest

5.9 miles/9.5km | 3.5 hours | easy-moderate

A few miles south of the historic town of Marlborough lies a sprawling 2,750-acre forest, once a popular hunting area where royalty chased stags past trees that still stand today.

Savernake is now in private ownership (but open to the public and managed by the Forestry Commission) and is believed to hold the highest concentration of veteran trees in Europe. 

Avebury and the Ridgeway

9.2 miles/14.8km | 6 hours | moderate

The Ridgeway may well be the most romantic road in southern Britain.

This 5,000-year-old path runs for 89 miles high over the prehistoric landscapes of Wiltshire and Berkshire to finish in the Chilterns. The sheer number of barrows, hillforts and other ancient sites mean that you don’t have to tax your imagination too hard to transport yourself to a magical, forgotten era.

Morgan’s Hill

6.5 miles/10.5km | 4 hours | moderate

Morgan’s Hill nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest that bursts into life in the spring. The slopes of the Wansdyke, old quarry, and surrounding grassland, are an orchid-hunter’s paradise.

Up to 11 species can be found here including early purple, marsh helleborine and common fragrant-orchid.

Just as thrilling are the abundance of butterflies such as the Adonis and chalkhill blue, and moths like the mother shipton.

Castle Combe

4.5 miles/7.2km | 3 hours | moderate

In certain places, the centuries seem to pass by with barely a ripple of change.

The Cotswold village of Castle Combe – a living antique adrift in the Wiltshire countryside – is one of them.

It looks no less exquisite today than it did when its weavers played their part in the medieval wool industry: Think narrow lanes, a meandering brook, and storybook cottages with tile-stone roofs.

The village is around 5 miles north-west of Chippenham.

Unfortunately and contrary to it's name, you won't find any battlement. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago.