Malmesbury

By car

The main road into town is the A429, which connects to the M4. Other main routes nearby are the A433 and the A419, which are connected to Malmesbury via smaller local roads.

By train

If you're looking to get here by train, you'll need to go to nearby Chippenham (which is your best connection to Bristol), Kemble (for the line to Stroud) or Swindon (for London Paddington.)

By bus

Local bus company lines from Andybus, Ad-Rains and Cotswold Green run to and from Swindon, Cirencester, Chippenham, Stroud and Tetbury, where you can connect to national bus lines.

The town has managed to preserve its historical atmosphere, not only through its main sights but also in its general street views. The main monumental structures are:

• Malmesbury Abbey

  phone: +44 1666 826666
  address: Gloucester St, SN16 0AA
  Built as a Benedictine monastery as early as 676AD, this massive religious structure is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It managed to survive pretty much from its first establishment through to the rumbling times of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Then, in 1539, Henry VIII sold the premise to William Stumpe, who used the buildings for his cloth-weaving business. He did however return the abbey church to the town of Malmesbury to serve as a parish church: a function it fulfils still today.

• Tower House

  address: Oxford Street
  Although the exact history of this place this remarkable house originates in medieval times. In the 1840s, its owner, a doctor with a strong interest in astronomy, gave the house its distinctive tower.

• Market CrossMalmesbury's late 15th-century Market Cross is one of the best preserved examples of such a structure in England. Traditional in market towns, the market cross would indicated the place of the market. It can't be missed, right in the centre of town. This one is said to be built with limestone from shortly before ruined parts of the abbey.

• Athelstan Museum

  phone: +44 1666 829258
  address: Cross Hayes, Malmesbury SN16 9BZ

• Old Bell Hotel

  phone: +44 1666 822344
  address: Abbey Row
  33-room hotel which has been in operation since 1220.

• The Horse Guards

  phone: +44 1666 822302
  address: Brokenborough