Walks around Box Wiltshire
This Wiltshire based village is located close to Corsham and Bath in a nice rural part of the county. There's some nice waterside walking along the By Brook and a significant waymarked trail running through the area. It's also quite close to the Cotswolds, one of the premier walking areas of the country.
The village is probably most well known for the Box railway tunnel created by Isambard Kingdom Brunel between December 1838 and June 1841.
This circular walk takes you north along the Macmillan Way and the pretty By Brook to Drewitt's Mill. You can easily extend the walk by continuing north along the waymarked trail and the river towards Slaughterford, Biddestone and Castle Combe.
You could extend the walk by continuing north to visit neighbouring Colerne. Here you will find nearly 90 historic listed buildings including a 13th century church and a noteworthy 17th century stone pub.
Box Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Box Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Box OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Box Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Walks near Box
- Biddestone - This pretty village is located in a pleasant rural location in north west Wiltshire
- Castle Combe - Enjoy a short circular walk around this delightful Cotswolds village
- Corsham Court - Follow footpaths across Corsham Park on this walk near Chippenham
- Macmillan Way - This epic long distance path links Boston in Lincolnshire to Abbotsbury in Dorset
- Badminton House and Estate - Enjoy a walk through the Duke of Beaufort's estate on this easy circular walk in the Cotswolds
- Lacock Abbey and Village - Explore the picturesque streets and historic buildings of Lacock Village before a visit to the beautiful Lacock Abbey set within its own delightful woodland grounds.
- Bowood House - This Georgian country house is located on the edge of the North Wessex Downs, near the Wiltshire town of Calne
- Chippenham to Calne Railway Path - This is a nice easy cycle or walk along the disused railway path from Chippenham to Calne
- Chippenham to Lacock Walk - A walk from Chippenham, through the countryside to the lovely Lacock Abbey and Village
- Holt Wiltshire - This worthy Wiltshire village is located close to Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge Park and Melksham in an attractive part of the county
- Bath Canal Walk - This is a popular walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal from Bath to Bradford on Avon
- Bath Skyline Walk - Enjoy wonderful views of the city of Bath on this popular circular walk
- Heaven's Gate Longleat - Enjoy wonderful views over the Longleat Estate and the surrounding Wiltshire countryside on this short walk near Warminster
- Fosse Way - This walk takes you along a section of the Fosse Way in Somerset
- Colerne - This pretty village is located in North Wiltshire, close to the city of Bath
- Browns Folly - This walk visits Brown's Folly near Bathford and Monkton Farleigh on the Somerset/Wiltshire border.
Pubs/Cafes
The Quarryman's Arms in Box Hill is a good choice for some post walk refreshment. The handsome pub has a fine interior and a lovely garden with terrace for warmer weather. You can find them at postcode SN13 8HN for your sat navs.
Dog Walking
The country trails make for a fine dog walk. The Quarryman's Arms mentioned above is also dog friendly.
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Just to the east there's the splendid Corsham Court to explore. The house is surrounded by lovely grounds with gardens, woodland a lake.
Just west of the village you can pick up the Fosse Way. The trail follows the path of the ancient Roman Road north towards Culkerton.
To the south there's the worthy village of Monkton Farleigh where you can explore the attractive estate of the 18th century Monkton Farleigh Manor House. The circular walk also visits South Wraxall with its 15th century manor house. Just to the north west of the village you can climb to Bathford Hill and visit Brown's Folly. The 19th century tower is surrounded by a nature reserve with woodland, wildlife and countryside views.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Cotswolds Walks and Wiltshire Walks pages.
Photos
Church Lane, Box, Wiltshire. The lane leads up from the church of St Thomas à Becket to the A4 old coaching road.
The By Brook. Magnificent riverside scenery north of Bath. The Macmillan Way long distance path follows this river valley for seven miles to Castle Combe.
Squeeze stile south of Drewett's Mill. The Macmillan Way long distance footpath follows the valley of the By Brook for seven miles between Box and Castle Combe. There is a complicated set of fields to cross here, mostly through gates although this stile for thin people is included. The brook is never more than 100 yards away.
Meander on the By Brook. The By Brook is now a substantial stream, close to being promoted to a river at this point. It has the characteristics here, flowing in a wide valley with significant meanders such as seen here. The clump in the middle may well soon (in geological terms) be cut through leaving this as an oxbow lake.
The By Brook flows in a south-easterly direction until it joins the river Avon at Bathford, on the outskirts of Bath. In spite of the dry weather, the brook appeared to be very full.
Roman Villas, Church Lane, Box, Wiltshire. The large scale map shows the site of an old Roman villa behind and to the left of the Victorian villas seen here. The viewpoint is the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket church.
Public drinking fountain. A typical piece of Victoriana, note the railings. There is a horse trough built into the other side and an inscription
The Blind House. A small stone lockup from former times where miscreants could be kept overnight until they could be dealt with by the local court, or until they had sobered up.