Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Swindon (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Museum of the Great Western Railway, Coate Water, and Swindon Stadium. Also, be sure to include Wilts & Berks Canal in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Swindon (England).
Table of Contents
Museum of the Great Western Railway
Museum in Swindon, England. STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is located at the site of the old railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000 and replaced the former GWR Museum, which was located on Faringdon Road in Swindon, which had opened on 22 June 1962.
Apart from the museum itself, the site has become home to the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet and, since 2005, the Head Office of the National Trust.[1]
Address: Fire Fly Avenue, Kemble Drive, SN2 2EY Wiltshire
Coate Water
Country park in Swindon, England. Coate Water is a country park situated 5 km to the southeast of central Swindon, England, near junction 15 of the M4. It takes its name from its main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts & Berks Canal.
The reservoir formed a 70-acre (280,000 m2) lake, built in 1822 by diverting the River Cole. Its primary purpose was to provide water for the canal and it remained outside the borough of Swindon until the borough's expansion in 1928.
In 1914, with the canal abandoned, Coate became a pleasure park; changing rooms and a wooden diving board were added. In 1935 the wooden diving platform was replaced with a 33 ft (10 m) high concrete platform in an Art Deco style which has been praised by English Heritage and, although swimming in the lake has been prohibited since 1958, it was given Grade II listed protection in 2013. Now named Coate Water Country Park, the lake is both a leisure facility and a nature reserve.[2]
Address: Malborough Road, SN3 6AA Swindon
Swindon Stadium
Stadium. Swindon Stadium, also known as the Abbey Stadium, is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track and speedway track in Blunsdon, Swindon, England. Greyhound racing currently takes place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday as part of the ARC fixture schedule with speedway normally on Monday and Thursday evenings.[3]
Address: Lady Lane, SN25 4DN Swindon
Wilts & Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. Among professional trades boatmen, the canal was nicknamed the Ippey Cut, possibly short for Chippenham.
The 52-mile (84 km) canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 – a fate hastened by the collapse of Stanley aqueduct in 1901. Much of the canal subsequently became unnavigable: many of the structures were deliberately damaged by army demolition exercises; parts of the route were filled in and in some cases built over. In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with a view to full restoration of the canal. Several locks and bridges have since been restored, and over 8 miles (13 km) of the canal have been rewatered.[4]
Museum of Computing
Museum in Swindon, England. The Museum of Computing in Swindon, England is dedicated to preserving and displaying examples of early computers. It was the first United Kingdom museum exclusively dedicated to the history of computing and opened in February 2003.[5]
Address: 6-7 theatre Square, SN1 1QN Swindon
Christ Church
Christ Church is a grade II* listed church in Cricklade Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It was built in 1851 to a design by George Gilbert Scott.
The church is one of two major buildings in Old Town, the other being the old town hall, only a few minutes walk away. Christ church is also a part of a parish, the other church to this parish is St Mary's, a small church near Commonweal School.
The interior of the building was remodeled in 2017 to provide better access, a gas heating system and LED lighting. The nave pews were retained and secured with an innovative fixing system allowing them to be removed on occasion to provide more space for large events.
The church grounds also house a modern Community Centre which hosts a wide variety of events and activities.[6]
Address: 26 Cricklade St, SN1 3HG Swindon
Lydiard Park
Country park in Swindon, England. Lydiard Park is a 260-acre country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its formal name, about 3 miles west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.[7]
Address: Lydiard Tregoze, Swindon
Swindon Town Hall
Swindon Town Hall is a former municipal building in Swindon, England which was built in to be a centrepiece of New Swindon. It is currently used by Swindon Dance, a National Dance Agency. It is a Grade II listed building.[8]
Address: Regent Circus, Swindon
Wanborough
Village in England. Wanborough is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about 3.5 miles southeast of Swindon town centre. The settlement along the High Street is Lower Wanborough, while Upper Wanborough is on higher ground to the southwest. The parish includes the hamlets of Horpit and Foxhill, 1.5 miles to the southeast.[9]
Mouldon Hill Country Park
Country park in Swindon, England. Mouldon Hill Country Park is a country park to the north west of the town centre of Swindon, within the parish of Haydon Wick and close to Thamesdown Drive. It is owned and managed by Swindon Borough Council.
The park is named after the small hill within it that rises from the River Ray and peaks at 105 metres above sea level.[10]
Lydiard House
Country park in Swindon, England. Lydiard Park is a 260-acre country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its formal name, about 3 miles west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.[11]
Holy Rood Church
Parish church in Swindon, England. Holy Rood Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1851 as a chapel and was rebuilt as a church in 1905. It is situated on the corner of Groundwell Road and Lincoln Street in the centre of the town. It was designed by Edward Doran Webb as a Gothic Revival church and was the first Roman Catholic church built in and around the town since the Reformation.[12]
Address: 2 Groundwell Rd, SN1 2LU Swindon
St Mark's Church
Church in Swindon, England. St Mark's Church is in Church Place, Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Swindon, the archdeaconry of Malmesbury, and the diocese of Bristol. Its benefice is united with those of St Aldhelm, Swindon, St Luke, Swindon, and St Saviour, Swindon, to form the benefice of Swindon New Town. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[13]
Address: Church Place, Swindon
St Augustine's Church
Church in Swindon, England. The Church of St. Augustine is an Anglican parish church in Even Swindon, an area of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The church was built to serve the spiritual needs of people moving to Swindon because of the Great Western Railway Works. The building was designed by W A H Masters, who also designed St Luke's Church, Broad Street, Swindon, and St Philip's, Upper Stratton. The church is in the Diocese of Bristol and the province of Canterbury, and is dedicated to St. Augustine of Canterbury.[14]
Address: Summers Street, SN2 2HA Swindon
St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church is in the village of Purton in north Wiltshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Bristol. It is one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage.[15]
Address: Purton House Church End, SN5 4EB Swindon