Old Sarum

Two sights in one: a massive Iron Age hill fort, which was occupied by the Celts, Romans and Saxons, and which provides great countryside views. And the once palatial castle at its centre, whose motte and bailey were dug out by the Normans although today this amounts to little more than the massive 11th century walls. Around the fort and castle developed a proto-Salisbury – including a mighty cathedral whose foundations remain – until tensions between the religious and military communities caused the former to decamp. They say an arrow was fired from the fort to decide the location of the new cathedral – the population followed and the present town emerged.