Fovant Badges

Drive south from Salisbury towards Shaftesbury and you'll spot them suddenly - enormous regimental badges carved into the chalk hillside near the village of Fovant. They're proper striking, these things. Soldiers stationed here during the First World War created them as a way to mark their units' presence, and somehow they've survived a century of English weather to remain vivid and unmissable.

There are fifteen badges in total, each representing different regiments and corps. You can pull over and look from the road - no climbing required - which makes this a genuinely straightforward stop rather than a serious expedition. Most people spend twenty minutes here, taking photos and trying to work out which regiment is which using the interpretation board. It's the kind of thing that appeals to military history enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in the oddities of wartime Britain.

The location itself matters. You're on the Chalke Valley, rolling downland that's proper beautiful in spring and summer. If you're basing yourself at Marshwood Farm Camping or Chalke Valley Camping - both excellent sites just a few miles away - this is a natural addition to your itinerary rather than a destination in itself. Combine it with a walk along the valley floor or a visit to Salisbury's cathedral and you've got a solid afternoon sorted.

Free to view, accessible year-round, and genuinely unusual. Not a major attraction, but worth the detour if you're in the area.