With so many important Neolithic monuments in the district it is no surprise that there are many museums and heritage centres in Kennet. The Wiltshire Heritage Museum houses the world-renowned Bronze Age collection from the barrows surrounding Stonehenge and Avebury and traces the history of Wiltshire people. The Merchant’s House in Marlborough, once owned by Thomas Bayley and dating back to1653, is being restored to its original glory.

The World Heritage Site of Avebury with its standing stone circles is a most impressive Neolithic ceremonial landscape. Its highlights include Silbury Hill, an awesome man-made structure whose purpose remains unsolved despite recent excavations, and the West Kennet Long Barrow, thought to be the largest burial tomb in the country. The Sanctuary is linked to Avebury by a stone Avenue and was thought to have been used as a temple from around 2500BC. The Alexander Keiller museum and the interactive Barn Gallery exhibition form an impressive centre displaying archaeology of Avebury.

The Kennet and Avon Canal running through the district is an important feature in the region’s industrial heritage. The Caen Hill flight of 29 locks near Devizes raises the water level 237 feet in less than two miles, and relies on the Crofton Pumping Station with the oldest working beam engine in the country, to raise the water level back to the summit. Devizes is home to the Kennet and Avon Canal museum with its excellent exhibition highlighting the history of the canal.

In 1643, during the Civil War, Roundway Down near Devizes was the scene of a great calvary battle between the well equipped Parliamentarians and the Royalists. On this occasion they were beaten by the Royalists and many of them died escaping over the ridge, now know as the 'Bloody Ditch'. To commemorate the battle, interpretation boards are being placed at the site and a series of information sheets are available from Information Centres in Kennet.