New viewing area created in honour of late Queen

A "stunning" new viewing area with parking for up to six cars is nearing completion.

Pewsey Parish Council in Wiltshire has worked to create 'Queen's View' on Pewsey Hill in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

It hopes the space, which will also include picnic tables and information boards, will attract more visitors to the area.

Peter Sharpe, who is from the parish council, told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "You get south to Salisbury, west across to Warminster. The view is nothing short of stunning in every direction." Queen's View will formally open on 20 June.

Sharpe said before they created the viewing area, drivers were stopping in a "very poor" layby. He said the new space would be safer.

The new viewing point has room for more cars and has been expanded so people can safely pull in and reverse out without veering onto the main road.

Sharpe added: "There will also be a raised mound so people can stand up and take pictures."

Wiltshire Council gave the parish council permission to make the changes.

"You can also see red kites and buzzards here. They have expanded hugely over the last 20 years, you can hear their call and watch them taking prey," Sharpe added.

Land around the viewpoint is steeped in history, with flint tools from the Mesolithic Age found throughout the area.

Jerry Kunkler, a local pub owner and Wiltshire councillor in Pewsey, said he hoped the space would encourage more visitors to the area.

He said: "I am fully supportive of this, it's a really good project.

"It's a brilliant view up there, I've been going there since I was a kid.

"The parish council have led all this and they've done a really good job," he added.

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