'Wiltshire feels mystical with its quirky attractions - and a cosy cottage stay'
Wiltshire is probably Britain's spookiest county, and one of the best for people looking to escape the grind for a little while.
A group of friends and I decided we wanted to get out of London for a long weekend but, as we all had to race back for work at the end, needed somewhere not too far away which would still feel like we were getting away from it all.
We plumped for Wiltshire as the perfect distance for ease of travel and, in no small part, a brilliant county to immerse ourselves in something a little different.
Driving from the east to the west of the country, you know you've arrived in the most ancient bit of the UK when you first spot Stonehenge rising off the top of the rolling hills against the bleak evening sky.
Even more so than the vast tracts of pig farm that line the road, the dark blocky silhouettes are the sign you're not in the South East of England anymore.
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Everywhere you turn there's some connection to an almost forgotten chapter of our collective history that makes the Victorian streets of London feel young.
The stones of the henge rise up against the evening sky (PA)Avebury stone circle (the largest in Europe). The mysteriously man made, Great Pyramid rivalling Silbury Hill. The equally inexplicable, 35-mile-long Wansdyke Earthwork.
The county is filled with these slightly eerie allusions to early Britain that makes Wiltshire the perfect place to visit if you're looking for somewhere that feels a little mystical.
They're also great to visit if you're trying to keep costs low as the majority of them (even Stonehenge if you're willing to drive down a bumpy side road and then walk over a field) are cheap or free.
There are also plenty of quirky modern day attractions dotted across the landscape.
For example, the abandoned village of Imber remains standing and equally ghostly to this day, 80 years after its residents were banished to make way for American troops poised to join the war effort.
The county's foremost safari park, Longleat, is both a fantastic place to visit and see some stunning wildlife, but has an interesting history as the home of the now late owner Lord Bath, who had a large beard and a hareem of 'wifelets', or so he claimed.
Imber has been deserted for the past 80 years (PA)Rumours aside, Longleat - which was the first safari park to open outside of Africa in 1966 - has some great offers for families and different events running throughout the year.
It was to Wiltshire and all of these intriguing treasures that we drove together on a miserable winter's evening, hoping to immerse ourselves in the county's charm and ward off the weather in a cosy cottage.
And, we discovered, what better cottage to choose than Foley's.
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The property is one of hundreds on the books of Sykes Holiday Cottages, which specialises in family-owned rural properties across Britain's countryside.
The cottage's roaring fire kept us warm over the turn of the year (sykescottages.co.uk)If Foley's is anything to go by, then specialising was a great decision.
The cottage felt like it had been handed lovingly to us by its real owners who had left for the weekend.
The layout had the feel of a home that had been well used and thought about while the decor made the place feel warm and welcoming.
A particularly lovely feature were the low hanging 17th century ceilings that locked in the general cosiness of the place and a thick thatched roof, which helped me tick off a minor life goal of sleeping beneath iconic roofing material.
Even with speedy wifi and a big TV, it was easy to feel like we'd slipped back in time while living in Foley's for a few days.
The trees in the garden are gnarled and ancient seeming, and provided a beautiful framing of the view beyond with their bare winter branches.
The cottage itself was nestled into a large rock that led up to a second tier of garden, giving the impression that it was almost part of the landscape.
The cottage had three snug bedrooms (sykescottages.co.uk)We headed out on a blustery day time walk to blow cobwebs from the evening before away and quickly found ourselves walking along the ridge of a hill top, picturesque church steeples and smoke spewing chimneys spread out below.
When we got to the bottom of the hill and walked into one of the chapels a vicar and his family were on hand to say hello and chat to us about the local area.
As easy and comfortable as it was to burrow ourselves away in the cosy cottage, we also made the very short trip to the Dove Inn for a fireside pint of ale.
On the one evening when we ventured out after-dark we discovered quite how pitch black such a remote area can get.
The skies were completely overcast and the moon blocked out. The longer we stayed outside, the more the wind seemed to whistle through the branches and rustle the leaves.
Had it not been for the roaring fire inside, the one which kept the cottage warm and snug throughout our stay, it might've all been a little spooky.
The three bed Foley's Cottage can be booked on sykes.com, with prices currently starting from £832 for seven nights.
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