YOU know those free magazines in supermarkets; the ones that claim to be about your town but just turn out to be a load of adverts plus a couple of generic articles and reviews? Having glanced at them once or twice, I’ve tended to ignore them and, since I’ve never seen anyone else picking one up, I guess most you do too.

Well, it seems I might have been doing them something of a disservice as the Good Lady Wife brought one home the other day and showed me details of a walk that was described in the pages. Not only described, but photographed in colour!

So, armed with said foolproof guide, we set out on that walk. It was a six-mile route around Castle Combe, taking in some very muddy fields and some lovely wooded areas. And I can safely say I’ve never seen so many ancient little bridges as we criss-crossed the River Bybrook.

The terrain and conditions made it a fairly knackering walk so we were glad to get to the White Hart in the village just before the heavens opened.

The menu outside the pub didn’t look all that exciting but appearances can be deceptive. We had something that’s become rarer than it should be; proper pub food (since you ask, I had a lovely lamb stew) and proper puds (sticky toffee, etc.) It was all well cooked and good value for money. We’ll certainly be back.

Despite living only half an hour from Castle Combe for the best part of 30 years, this was the first time we’d been there.

We’d always intended to make the trip but, for some reason, had never got round to it. I guess it’s like people in New York not visiting the Statue of Liberty; you can miss what’s on your doorstep.

And don’t we have a lot on our doorstep? Wiltshire contains so much! Avebury, Stonehenge, Longleat, Roundway Hill, Stourhead, Savernake Forest, Salisbury Cathedral, the Downs, the Ridgeway, to name but a few.

There are loads of great towns and villages too – Castle Combe and Lacock are the well-known ones but we’re spoilt for choice.

Those towns and villages contain lots of excellent pubs, although many of these are struggling – use them or lost them, don’t start whining when they’re closing, that’s normally too late.

Don’t get me started on our excellent festivals, carnivals and suchlike. If you fancy something more exotic then ride the 49 bus between Devizes and Swindon. Not only might you see lots of wildlife like hares, rabbits, kites, buzzards and antelope (well, deer anyway), the state of the roads plus the suspension on the buses make it feel like you’re on safari in sub-Saharan Africa.

With all that our county has to offer, I’m often surprised that people can claim to be bored. But maybe I’m looking at it through the eyes of a city-born 50-something? I like going for walks. I like eating out and pubs (‘really?’, I hear you say). I like the fact that London is relatively easy to reach. Then again, I’m at the stage of life where I’ve got the time and money to do those things. Maybe not quite as often as I’d like, but I can’t really complain.

Of course we all don’t have the same needs, wants and opportunities and there are some who will ‘bored’ no matter what’s on offer. Like the teenagers who have been giving people grief at Morrison’s in Devizes. For goodness sake! This should no longer be an issue, mind, as Wiltshire’s finest have given them “strong words of advice”.

Sure there are things that we’d all like to see changed and I’m as guilty as many for having a good old moan but sometimes most of us should take the time to appreciate how lucky we are to live in Wiltshire.

Normal service will be resumed next month.