still not figured out if this is "Swindon" but not Swindon, we're talking about? The "Nationwide trails" cover 2 bloody counties.
I quite like Old Town. Have lunch there regularly, good cafes, walk the dog on The Lawns. Riding is mainly classic Ridgeway stuff with the odd bit in the woods. Suits me fine. Barbury Castle and back from Uffington is a regular.
And I’d even say that the road riding is better than ‘nearly as good’, it’s excellent.
It is. I live in the Cotswolds and will ride for 2 hrs to get over Hackpen Hill and south into the Marlborough Downs for a long road ride. Beautiful road and gravel riding along the hills there. The western half of the Ridgeway is pretty good old school XC and there's loads more of that kind of thing in the Andover-Warminster-Swindon triangle.
the only good thing about Swindon was Melinda Messenger and I’m assuming she doesn’t live there any more.
I didn't know she was from Swindon, I'd always associated her with the Bristol area.
I did a laugh 😀
On a more serious note, it depends on what you like.
The Ridgeway and Savernake forest are more gravel / XC and you can ride for miles.
If you are after something more challenging, there is:
- 417 Bike Park in Birdlip on the way to Cheltenham / Gloucester,
- Swinley Forest near Bracknell,
- Tidworth Freeride Bikepark, near Salisbury,
- Bike Park Wales, Cwmcarn trail centre and Afan Forest to the west.
The Glue Pot is still there! Wouldn’t enter it myself but fair enough if it’s your scene!
The climbing wall has been replaced by trampolines at the leisure centre, but there are at least 2 other climbing centres in town now which are pretty decent.
Blimey, there is a lot of anti-Swindon in this thread! 🙁
It’s not so much anti-Swindon, more the recognition that the new town at the bottom of the hill is a horrid 60’s monstrosity with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, whereas Old Town is a really nice area with decent pubs, a smashing little Arts Centre, and a proper village feel to it.
Don’t forget to visit the Swindon wonders https://jasperfforde.com/swindon/7wonders.html
Fear not Hannah, Wiltshire is a big county with plenty of Rights of Way to explore.
Take a look at this website which was started by a couple of local photographers. Scroll down to the bottom of the home page where you can load thumbnails of their pics. Views aplenty, huge skies, more history than you can shake a stick at.
https://www.hiddenwiltshire.com/
Ok. I’m really going to Swindon this time. Should be there Saturday morning ready to ride. Hoping to follow the advice of @natrix and explore the orienteering and train thing, plus of course the mystical Nationwide trails. If @eskimonumber1 or anyone else is around for a spot of navigation/posing for pictures/chattering drop me an email! Hannah@singletrackworld.com
Much as I’m sure it’s all lovely nearby, I’m doing a lap from Milton Keynes on Friday, then Swindon on Saturday, so there’ll be no room for driving anywhere else! I’m calling it the glamour tour. Might pop in to Wolverhampton on the way back just to top it off.
Being a member of the STW team sounds really glamorous!
Riding south from Swindon will bring you towards West Woods, west of Marlborough and close to Avebury, Silbury Hill and the Wansdyke, which runs through it, and which is the source of the Sarcen Stones that are the main feature in Stonehenge - there’s one in this photo, along with bluebells:
This is looking from close to the Wansdyke, near Furze Knoll, with West Woods on the skyline to the centre right, and Silbury Hill is roughly in the centre. Fantastic open skies, one of my favourite places.
Are you riding at Woburn on your ride from Milton Keynes Hannah?
@ampthill Woburn is tomorrow, yes. Bit so much riding as writing though.
I’ll be interested to hear west Woburn is like from the perspective of some one who lives some where with actual music mountain biking. At least it’s rideable year round and in fact gets more traffic in the winter then the summer
