A weekend in Wiltshire.

Tucked away behind The Three Magpies pub, near the pretty village of Melksham in Wiltshire, you will find The Three Magpies Campsite. 

We decided to spend a long weekend up, exploring the Caen Hill locks (which are not far down the road), soaking up the sun, and indulging on good food. (The perfect long weekend, no?)

The Three Magpies Campsite is a simple, but sweet affair, with a few hard standing pitches at the top of the site, and then a field divided into two (seemingly one side for caravans and motorhome and one for tents).

Facilities on the site included a portacabin toilet block, electric points for at least 40 emplacements (I know this is the French term, but it is just so much nicer than the English!) and a small summerhouse which has plugs, and a hairdryer for those in tents. 

We had my campervan, and an RV on two grassy pitches, both with electric, for the very reasonable price of £15 a night. 

A quick jump back to the facilities, and in particular the toilet block. This was the only disappointing part of the campsite in my eyes. I base a lot on the shower block, and it is the first thing to be checked before deciding to stay somewhere (in situations where a site has not been booked beforehand). There was just the one block, which is ample enough for the site, however the facilities inside where not unusable, just run down and generally lacking.

The men’s toilets had two toilets and two showers, however the women’s loos simply comprised of one toilet cubicle and a shower. Had the visit been in peak season, I’m sure there would have been queues for the shower in the morning. 

The pub on site, however, was anything but lacking. A good local pub in the sticks, inside is cosy, inviting and has a wonderful atmosphere that comes from years of great service and happy regulars. 

With a huge selection of local Wadsworth beers on tap, as well as ciders, stouts, and wines, there is a great selection, and all reasonably priced, and well worth a try.

The smell of freshly cooked meals became too much to resist in the end and on Sunday lunchtime we found ourselves sitting down to a full Sunday roast and a cold pint of cider. (Find the review of the pub itself here.)

The site itself is just a two minute walk away (281 yards according to the very accurate sign which sits beside the water) from the edge of the canal, and a miles and miles of beautiful paths to walk along, including a walk to the Caen Locks. We took the stroll to the highly recommended Barge Inn, just over a mile away.

Just over half an hours casual wander beside the water, past lush green fields, The Barge Inn is in the perfect setting. In fact so perfect, I was adamant for a while that it must be a film set. 

We sat down to a lunch outside, in the beer garden overlooking the canal, in the beautiful pub garden. (A far more in-depth review is over here.)

Overall, a gorgeous little campsite, that is half the price of its Caravan and Camping Club neighbours, and a fantastic base for an exploration of the Wiltshire canals.