Where to go · Wiltshire
Forest bathing at Grovely Wood
A big mixed wood on a chalk ridge above the Wylye valley, crossed by a Roman road and full of paths.
Grovely Wood covers around 270 hectares of a chalk ridge above the River Wylye, north-west of Salisbury, and is one of the largest mixed woodlands in south Wiltshire. It is listed as a Forestry England wood and is a County Wildlife Site, with purple emperor butterflies among its species. The wood is ancient and the ridge has plenty of evidence of Iron Age settlement; a Roman road runs straight through the middle.
The usual way in is from Great Wishford: go past the Royal Oak pub and follow Grovely Road for about a mile up to the car park. The ridge is full of paths and it is easy to get turned around, so take a map and have a route in mind. The Roman road gives a long, straight walk under the canopy; for a change of scene, Little Langford Down, an open chalk grassland slope at the edge of the wood, is about two miles from the car park. Tracks can be muddy.
Practical
- Managed by
- Forestry England
- Parking
- Car park at the top of Grovely Road from Great Wishford
- Terrain
- Forest tracks and paths on a chalk ridge, muddy in places
- Nearest station
- Salisbury, about 15 minutes by car
- Facilities
- None listed
- Opening and entry
- Free
- Official page
- woodlandtrust.org.uk
Last updated 4 November 2026. Paths, parking and access can change, so check before you visit. Spotted something out of date? Please let us know.
Guides who run sessions here
No guides listed at Grovely Wood yet
See forest bathing guides in Wiltshire, who may run sessions nearby. If you guide here, list your practice for free and add Grovely Wood to your venues.
More woodlands in Wiltshire
All venues in Wiltshire
Bentley WoodLarge charitable-trust wood east of Salisbury, famous for its woodland butterflies
Picket and Clanger WoodWoodland Trust wood near Trowbridge with a firm main path and rare white bluebells
Savernake ForestAncient forest of veteran trees just south of MarlboroughPhotos: Bentley Wood, N Chadwick (CC BY-SA 2.0); Picket and Clanger Wood, Chris debian (CC BY-SA 4.0); Savernake Forest, Tim Heaton (CC BY-SA 2.0).