An increasingly popular festival fringe event is the Sunday morning walk with expert guides.

This year about 35 walkers, and two dogs, joined the trek alongside the Ladbrook in glorious weather, from Corsham to Lacock, and learned how the landscape and watercourse had affected the lives of people who lived there for the past 1,000 years.

Much of the route was on private land, off the public paths, where the owners had given special permission to the festival organisers.

Historian Dr Negley Harte spoke about the Corsham woollen mills mentioned in the Domesday book and tried to identify the sites.

Farmer Paul Weaver, whose family has farmed the area for three generations pointed out some the curious features on his and the neighbouring land, including the house which has only a west wing – the owner/builder was killed in action in the First World War - the site of an ancient watermill, which may or many not have been one of the Domesday mills, and the site of a 900 year old stone bridge, thoughtlessly removed by someone who thought the stones looked better as garden decorations.

His farm, where his wife Susie provided welcome refreshments, was a film set for Tess of the D’Urbervilles and film companies occasionally borrow from his collection of old farm equipment.

One of the last stops was the ancient Arnold’s mill in Lacock, which still has recognisable mill features.