Bus Challenge No 109!!

St Michael and All Angels Church, Melksham

“In a beautiful pocket of rural Wiltshire, Melksham is a lovely market town situated on the banks of the Bristol Avon. It was once part of a vast royal forest; a favourite hunting ground of Tudor kings. Melksham appears in the Domesday Book and its prosperity was founded on agriculture and the woollen cloth making industry.”  www.melkshamtown.co.uk

My plan for today was to visit Great Chalfield Manor, currently to be seen in Poldark as the home of Jim Nettle’s character (I can’t remember his name!). But after taking a bus into Bath to meet my Bus Challenge friend, and then a second bus east to Atworth, things went pear shaped! After a wait of 35 minutes, our third bus still hadn’t turned up, and as it ran only twice a day, we decided it was pointless waiting any longer and got on the first bus that came along! And so we found ourselves in Melksham for the day!!

As it turns out, it was a good decision and we spent a pleasant three hours browsing the shops (picked up another two Christmas presents!) and following a town trail that included St Michael’s Church, which dates back to Saxon times. The church is in a very pretty part of town with houses dating back to the late 17th century, and early 18th century cottages, many of which outwardly remain similar to when they were built.

All in all a pleasant discovery as until today, the only thing I knew about Melksham was that it had a tyre factory! Great Chalfield Manor will have to wait until next Spring, but in the meantime I can enjoying viewing it from the outside on Poldark!!

Total bus journey time = 2 hours 17 mins
Total waiting between buses time = 1 hour 16 mins
Total journey time = 3 hours 33 mins