Views on the place that is Swindon.

guttridge · 22/09/14 - 13:21

Has anyone been here before. got to go there over the weekend. Not heard too many nice things about the city. What is it know for . and are there any good places to vist in this town?

Hugh Jboobs · 22/09/14 - 13:23

It's not as good as Shakespeare's birthplace or Cadbury World.

Elyan · 22/09/14 - 13:27

The Wood Street area in Old Town has a few decent bars.

Apart from that it's a God-awful place.

2+2=5 · 22/09/14 - 13:30

All I know about Swindon on the rare occasions of having been there:

- Swindon Works and museum. Major GWR depot back in the day.
- Footie club that had back to back demotions from the Premiership. Glen Hoddle used to play/manage there.
- Swindon Outlet - a factory seconds shopping area. Quite cool.
- I once ended up here when I got on the wrong train from Reading - had wanted to go to London (which is in the other direction). Oops.

David (2) · 22/09/14 - 15:00

It's in my area, it's very industrialised, a concrete jungle, doesn't look very nice.

The main town centre (pedestrianised) is quite good for major stores, but the design and look is not good.

Roads are bit of nightmare too, + it has the "magic roundabout".

Good points are the GWR railway museum & outlet village (shopping mall,with a food hall, which is quite good if a bit expensive). And coate water park.

sodavlac · 22/09/14 - 15:19

2+2=5 wrote: »

All I know about Swindon on the rare occasions of having been there:

- Swindon Works and museum. Major GWR depot back in the day.
- Footie club that had back to back demotions from the Premiership. Glen Hoddle used to play/manage there.
- Swindon Outlet - a factory seconds shopping area. Quite cool.
- I once ended up here when I got on the wrong train from Reading - had wanted to go to London (which is in the other direction). Oops.

Never been, but if this is turning into a "what we know about Swindon thread" then I too remember them in the Premier League. I think John Gorman was the manager at the time as Hoddle left for Chelsea over the summer after they got promoted. I took an interest in them as I was "manager" of them in a play-by-mail/postal game that was similar to the Football Manager computer games. I remember players like Jan Aage Fjortoft, Paul Bodin and Nicky Hammond.

Melida Messenger comes from there. I think she's lovely.

The other day I read on this very forum that they have a roundabout called The Magic Roundabout, which is just near the football ground. It's a central roundabout circled by 5 smaller roundabouts. I don't know why. http://www.pottwalblog.ch/wp-content/upload/Magischer-Kreisel.jpg

RichmondBlue · 22/09/14 - 15:24

Been there a few times on business, pretty dull really. You're better off travelling to Bristol for a day out if you really must stay there.

Miss XYZ · 22/09/14 - 15:29

I went there a few times years ago, mainly with work, and never liked the place. It was just crap! I last went there about 2 or 3 years ago but I only went to the football ground so can't comment on what it's like nowadays.

dome · 22/09/14 - 15:36

Old town is the better part, otherwise think Crawley.

The magic roundabout is fun though.

Vulpes · 22/09/14 - 15:42

It's a truly beautiful town.

Swindon has:

A wonderful history
Great facilities (which will only get better once the re-gen project is complete)
Decent economy
Very low crime rate
The best football club ever
And of course The Magic Roundabout.

What more does one need?

malpasc · 22/09/14 - 16:01

I had the misfortune of living there until 2001.

The place is a characterless dump on the whole.

The population are generally on the miserable side, satisfied with the mediocre and have fairly low aspirations.

The shopping is rubbish, the architecture is appalling, the accent is ugly, nightlife is awful with one or two small exceptions. It suffers from being within easy reach of places that have more going for themselves - Bath, Bristol, London.

The main positive is that it is very easy to escape from.

swingaleg · 22/09/14 - 16:09

I went to Swindon on the 18th February 1967

sodavlac · 22/09/14 - 16:12

Vulpes wrote: »

It's a truly beautiful town.

Swindon has:

A wonderful history
Great facilities (which will only get better once the re-gen project is complete)
Decent economy
Very low crime rate
The best football club ever
And of course The Magic Roundabout.

What more does one need?

"Location: London, UK". Clearly one needs more or you wouldn't have left.

(I'm just kidding around)

[Deleted User] · 22/09/14 - 16:27

Shithole. But some of the surrounding villages are lovely.

[Deleted User] · 22/09/14 - 16:34

I live there and have done for the past couple of years. Swindon is fine. It gets a bad rap but its just another town. The magic roundabout is awesome by the way :P

What kind of things do you like doing? There are nice walks if you get out of the town itself and the museum that others have mentioned (although I have never been so can't recommend it or otherwise). There are some nice restaurants and Old Town is a nice enough area to have a beer.

Vulpes · 22/09/14 - 17:01

sodavlac wrote: »

"Location: London, UK". Clearly one needs more or you wouldn't have left.

(I'm just kidding around)

Actually I haven't left because I've never lived in Swindon - but I've been supporting Swindon Town FC for 16 years, been to hundreds of home games, have friends & family there, and have regular nights out there.

I think that more than qualifies me for an opinion on Swindon

Fiddly_Feltz · 22/09/14 - 17:23

It's in a fabulous part of England bordering Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Berkshire....11 miles from Cirencester and The Cotswolds on its doorstep.

Old Town is by far the best area and the only place I go to.

Although it's HQ to a few big companies it's a commuter town with excellent travel links.

Oh yeah......and The Magic Roundabout works very well!!