Thank you once again for taking part in Round 2 of the CPRE Wiltshire Best Kept Village Competition 2026.
I am sorry to let you know that Biddestone was not selected as the overall winner of the Medium Village category this year.
Reaching the county round is a significant achievement and reflects the tremendous care, effort and community pride shown throughout your village. The standard was extremely high, and the judges had a difficult decision to make.
I have attached the judges’ report, together with the overall scores for your category. I hope the feedback is useful and helps recognise all the hard work that went into your village’s entry.
Please pass on our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed. We hope you will consider entering the competition again next year.
Thank you for being such an important part of this year’s competition.
“The village was generally in good condition and well kept. The Village Hall and playing fields area as a whole, including cricket, football, tennis and boules pitches, was excellently maintained, and the tree planting will enhance it further. The unobtrusive advertising helped with the overall professional ambiance and appearance.
In the central area the pond and green were well looked after and the war memorial looked good. The pub also made a positive contribution. There was very little litter though the bins are showing their age, as is some of the signage. It’s very impressive that the village has retained and maintained its public toilets, which were clean and tidy. As were the phone box and Village Pump, though a little weeding might be helpful.
The Butts is an impressive area of conservation and the volunteers have obviously done a lot of work. The network of paths is very helpful for visitors.
The churchyard is being sensibly managed and generally looks good though there was some litter.
The map was helpful though there seems no reason to exclude assets such as the allotments by the playing fields or the cemetery extension.
Noticeboards were mostly up to date though somewhat cluttered.
The website is very user-friendly and shows how much work is being done by the Parish Council and villagers.”