Welcome to Swindon

COMPARED to many of the other towns in Wiltshire, Swindon is relatively new. The man credited with creating modern Swindon is legendary engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Brunel was an engineering genius whose many achievements still stand today. He was responsible for building great ships, bridges and the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol.

Luckily for Swindon, then a small market town, Brunel chose it to be the centre of the engineering works for the Great Western Railway in 1843. From then on, Swindon became a centre for railway innovation.

A railway village was built for the workers, row upon row of small pretty cottages, now protected by their listed building status.

Hailed by some as the most important building in Swindon, the Mechanics Institute was built by the railway workers themselves 135 years ago to provide them with a welfare centre and library. Now fallen sadly into disrepair, it is a Grade II* listed building, making it one of most significant buildings of its kind in the UK.

There are other buildings of note, including the museum of the Great Western Railway, known as Steam, based in the old railway works itself, as is a popular outlet shopping centre. The attractive Old Town has a number of lively bars and restaurants.

What many tourists may not realise, is that despite being well-known for being the national centre of many large businesses, such as Honda and Motorola, Swindon has a wide variety of historical and ancient sites nearby.

The ancient bridleway, the Ridgeway, runs past Swindon and on it is one of the best examples of an ancient hill-fort settlement, Barbury Castle. Barbury Castle is only ten minutes drive away from Swindon and is a well preserved iron-age hill-fort and a peaceful place for a picnic.

Elegant Lydiard House is a grand stately home in Swindon and well worth a visit. Swindon is also surrounded by beautiful countryside on all sides.

As you drive north from Swindon you pass through many old villages made from the local Cotswold stone, with Lechlade, Burford and Highworth in close reach. To the east, the prehistoric white horse of Uffington is close by and can be seen from the road from Swindon to Oxford.

Avebury and Stonehenge are within reach of Swindon as are many other ancient sites. Swindon is ideally located in north Wiltshire between London and Bristol and linked by major motorway and rail routes.

Things to see and do
Wroughton Science museum
Steam - Museum of the Great Western Railway
The Swindon and Cricklade Railway
Lydiard House
Arts Centre
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Uffington White Horse
Wayland Smithy