SECRETS OF THE WILTSHIRE LANDSCAPE
Discover the secrets of Wiltshire's rolling chalk hills, England’s greatest landscape garden and quirky white horses, together with the world’s largest and most famous stone circles at Avebury and Stonehenge.
‘Here is the heart of our Island... The fibres of England unite in Wiltshire’. Novelist EM Forster made a good point. Wiltshire’s landscape encompasses quintessential scenes, the best of both southern and south-west England. The county has rolling chalk hills, exquisite Cotswold villages, England’s greatest landscape garden and quirky white horses, together with the world’s largest and most famous stone circles. There is much to delight the photographer here. Yet compared to other parts of the West Country, most of Wiltshire remains relatively little known. On this tour I will share its secrets.
The tour has been scheduled to coincide with the flowering of bluebells and other woodland flowers, oil-seed rape and freshly green leaves. This is the Wiltshire countryside at its vibrant best. The dates of flowering vary slightly from year to year so whilst we cannot guarantee to catch all of them at their peak, these dates give us the best chance.
Highlights of this tour include photographing many different aspects of the five thousand year old Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, England’s finest cathedral and most renowned landscape garden, a pristine chalk stream packed with flowers and a hidden gem of woodland far from other visitors.
On our final morning, this tour will offer a unique opportunity to capture the Full Moon setting beyond Stonehenge (weather permitting) at its once-in-19-year Major Lunar Standstill. You will need a long telephoto lens to do this justice.
Your leader for this wildlife photography tour will be Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP CEnv CSci MCIWEM, author of Photographing Wiltshire.
Group Size: Maximum of 6 participants.
Recommended photographic equipment: Digital single lens reflex camera, lenses ranging from wide angle (ideally 16mm on full frame) to short telephoto (preferably up to 300mm), tripod (essential), neutral density filters and polarising filter. Warm and waterproof clothes and good walking shoes or boots. Wellington boots will be useful for one shooting position.
Dates: 10 to 13 May 2025
Four day tour. Price £795 for double/twin occupancy. Single supplement £120.
Included: Accommodation in single, twin or double rooms at Castle Hotel in Devizes for three nights, breakfasts, transport within Wiltshire, photographic guiding. Meet at 10.30am on Day 1, depart 3pm on Day 4.
Not included: Lunches, drinks, evening meals, travel to Devizes to join tour.
““Itinerary was very good we saw a good selection of the varied landscape in Wiltshire. Lots of assistance from the tour leader with composition and settings” ”
““It was a very full and varied programme which gave the participants a range of interesting places to visit. The Itinerary was well planned, taking into consideration weather conditions ... I do like the talks that Robert gives as it provides a good explanation of what you are seeing and the history of the particular place. I also liked explanation of composition and suggestions to improve, before taking an image, a subject I think all of us needed help on.” ”
“The hotel was a good choice – comfortable and friendly, and well placed for all the locations ... It’s quite difficult to choose just three favourites as we visited so many amazing places, but if pushed I would name these three (in no particular order): Stonehenge, Stourhead, West Woods ... Your knowledge and enthusiasm for all things Wiltshire adds significantly to the overall enjoyment – it’s a learning experience as well as an opportunity to take great photos.”
“The photographic sites were well chosen and Roberts knowledge was first class to get the most out of each site [time of day, direction of light etc].”
“Enjoyed the variety of locations and subjects which had all been well researched. It was good to have flexibility with the itinerary to make the best of the weather and light. I liked the fact that we were given help with camera settings and positioning ourselves for the best shot. The Castle Hotel was an excellent base – the owners and staff were really friendly and helpful and the meals were plentiful! Nice group of fellow photographers – everyone got on well and were willing to help one another out (most of the time!) Minibus was spacious and comfortable to travel in.”