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Melksham is a small town in Wiltshire. It is not most people's idea of a tourist destination. Originally an Anglo Saxon settlement (Milk town) Melksham became one of Wiltshire's industrial towns and grew on the back of the Avon (locally pronounced as Avun) rubber factory.

Most of the interesting buildings in the area where demolished when the Avon factory expanded & also in the re-development of the town centre in the 60's leaving Melksham a pretty bleak place.

It is by population (23,000) the 5th largest town in Wiltshire after Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham & Trowbridge but it is sadly lacking in amenities.

[edit] Get in

Air The nearest airport to the town is Bristol. Heathrow is only 1hr 30 mins away

Road - Melksham is situated on the main North/South A350 trunk road. It can be reached by leaving the M4 at J17 and following the A350 south for approx 10 miles

Trains - Melksham is served by 2 trains per day on the Swindon - Southampton line. ~The train station is commonly known as 'the bus stop' due to it's small size and appearence of a bus shelter.

Bus - Melksham is served by buses from Bath, Chippenham, Trowbridge & Devizes on a regular basis

[edit] Get around

The town centre is small enough to walk round

[edit][add listing] See

There is nothing much to see in the town apart from the 800 year old St Micheals church and the old Roundhouse nearby

Nearby you have the National Trust Village of Lacock.

[edit][add listing] Do

See "Get Out"

[edit][add listing] Buy

The huge Leekes Department Store (Beanacre Road) is the main focus of retail activity in Melksham. It offers anything that you can think of for the house & home (for a price)

[edit][add listing] Eat

• The Fish and Chip Shop, Union Street located close to the main shopping street. An excellent example of a good quality English chippy.

• The Kings Arms, Market Place. Good quality 'pub grub' although the beer is a bit pricey

• Melksham also has 3 Indian restaurants, 2 Chinese restaurants (Lee's Chinese on Beanacre Road is excellent) and countless Kebab shops, etc.

[edit][add listing] Drink

The Bear, The Grapes, The Tavern, The Parsons Nose, The West End & The Foresters are some of the establishments in the town. Beware of drunken idiots on weekend nights - Melksham is famous for it. It was once named as in the top 10 most violent places in the UK.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

The King Arms in the Market place offers rooms.

Beechfield House, Beanacre Road has excellent if rather expensive rooms and a fantastic restuarant. It has the added benifit of being on the main A350 trunk road out of the town for a quick getaway!

There are also several B & B's located in the town.

[edit] Contact

[edit] Get out

Tourists who find themselves in Melksham by mistake would do well to head for nearby Lacock, Bradford on Avon or Devizes.