subject: Swindon Shopping And Culture [print this page] A stay in Swindon A stay in Swindon
It seems funny to me that anyone would want to come to my home town of Swindon but I guess that's just because you always have some air of negativity about your home town having lived there for so long. When I actually take a step back and think about what Swindon has to offer to anybody who should find themselves here, then it's not really so bad at all. The town just seems to be the butt of jokes and is placed in the same bracket as places like Slough and Hull and with that comes a demeanour and forces almost a shameful admission when anybody asks where you live.
However, I'm proud of my town and if you come to visit here's what you can expect.
The location of Swindon is pretty much ideal for everywhere to be honest. On one side you have easy access to Bath and Bristol via the M4 and the direct train route. To the north you can take a trip to Oxford, a beautiful city which oozes culture and history. Towards the east of the town you have Reading, and of course beyond London. The South coast is only really just over an hour's drive (directly to Southampton) or about the same time on the train too (you have to go via Reading).
If you're coming for shopping then you're in for a bit of treat. The town centre is pretty much the same as any other of a town Swindon's size; plenty of shops and busy, bustling high street with plenty of opportunity to grab some deals. What's more impressive is the Designer Outlet village that sits just outside of town (within walking distance). Here you can pickup some great bargains on yesteryear's fashion with discounts of up to 75% on designer labelled stuff.
You wouldn't usually associate Swindon with having much depth in terms of history and culture, but actually the opposite is true. Swindon is mainly famous for a chap called Brunel who orchestrated the development of the railway network decades ago in the era of the steam train. You'll find evidence of the huge workforce that was located in Swindon (the headquarters for Brunel and his troops) with terraced houses that you can actually visit and view (it's more interesting than it sounds) to get an idea of how people used to live. There's also the railway museum where there are a number of trains on display. If you're really into your trains, then you should really make a trip down to the Cricklade Railway line where you can actually take a trip on an old steam locamotive. The journey length is only half an hour, but you still get to experience what it was like back in the day of steam powered trains.
There are of course plenty more attractions in the Swindon area and I'll be covering those in later articles so keep visiting my author profile to pick those up. And if you do make your way to Swindon to visit any of the attractions I have mentioned, then make sure you book through my hotels web site!
