[Closed] Talk to me about ...Swindon

II'v worked and stayed there a few times. The town is ok, not the worst. There's not a lot of tech riding, but the trails are absolutely glorious. I was there in the summer, evening rides across the downs through beautiful scenery are some of my most memorable. Loved it. Depends what you need from your MTBing.

The road riding is also great. With regards living you may be able to afford one of the lovely small towns or villages nearby. Marlborough is lovely, but looks more expensive 🙂

Don't bother with commuting from South Wales or Bristol unless you can do it via train. The M4 is a ballache, especially Newport. In Bristol traffic is a ballache in general.

If you don't like city living have a look at Tetbury. Cheap, handy for Swindon and good mountainbiking all around.

Having flown over for the interview, I didn't get any chance to have a nosey around the town, so was largely working off the reputation! Good to know about the commuting, I was aware Bristol wasn't great for traffic, and the aim was to stay as close to the motorway as possible.

I was aware of things like the Ridgeway, but good to have the options. I know it's not too far to South Wales for more techy riding and that sort of thing.

Tetbury is a good recommendation, I'd largely written the whole Cotswold area off as too expensive.

Some great country nearby, places like Bishopstone. Nice trail riding from the door, and close to the M4 as well.

I was aware of things like the Ridgeway

Of course it's not just the Ridgeway. There's hundreds of miles of trails. Take a look at the OS map, it's covered with ROWs.

For a start, Swindon isn’t a city! It’s a large town and unitary authority, but it’s certainly not a city. The town centre is blighted by nasty 60’s concrete, but Old Town is really nice, it sits up high, has nice houses, parks, an arts centre and has, or did, a really good bike shop. It gives access to the Downs, the Ridgway, which will take you up towards Buckinghamshire and back down towards Wroughton and the Marlborough Downs.

There are plenty of decent nearby towns to pick from as well, like Wroughton, Royal Wootton Bassett, and others on the outskirts which are within easy commute distance, if not easy cycling distance, and even the surrounding estates are linked by a network of cycle paths, including a Sustrans route from Marlborough which I’ve ridden, and is pretty decent.

Chepstow/Newport is already seeing the effects of the bridge tolls being removed and people in Bristol looking at cheaper housing; house prices are rising, and the M4 leading up to the M32 in each direction is a massive choke point in the morning and late afternoon, I have to drive it frequently to and from Newport and the south-west as part of my job, and it’s going to get worse! Chippenham is about as far west as I’d go, I live there, and it’s fairly expensive, being three miles from the M4, but Calne isn’t too bad, and accessible via Avebury and Wroughton, which is a nice drive, plus you could take the bike, stop off in Avebury and get in a really nice evening ride taking in Silbury Hill via a bridleway alongside the River Winterbourne, onto the A4 up to the Ridgeway, then along the Ridgeway to where the Herepath (Sustrans route up from Avebury) meets it, follow that across Fyfield Down to Rockley, then pick up a byway to Barbury Castle, then onto the Ridgeway to the Herepath and back down into Avebury and a nice pint in the Red Lion. Makes a nice 16 mile figure-of-eight, and a couple of climbs, particularly out of Rockley can raise your heart-rate a little, especially on a single-speed... 😅

Tetbury is a good recommendation, I’d largely written the whole Cotswold area off as too expensive.

The Costswold is actually a huge area, basically from Bath in the south, up almost as far as  Birmingham than way across to Oxford in the east, Castle Combe is in the Corswolds, Chippenham is, sort of, but very much on the bottom east edge, but it includes Tetbury, Cirencester and Cheltenham, Swindon wouldn’t really count as such.

You could commute by train from Stroud (use a folding bike if needed), vast range of property that's definitely cheaper than Bristol, great riding both on & off road, FoD and hour away, BPW 1.5hrs, lovely valley views. But, it's a bit Stroud, think affluent, chavvy, hippy & your on the right track. I've been here 7 years now and after 40 years in London it's a breath of fresh air, literally.

Swindon is a functional town. Most facilities you could want but not a town you would take a weekend break in or wonder around. Load of nice town and villages near by from very expensive to cheap. A fair few good jobs in the area and the M4 corridor neannload others near by.

Localrriding is very mint sauce and nice but not gnar. You can get a fair way in a hour but as always live the side of the town you work to maximise the commute efficiency.

 But, it’s a bit Stroud, think...

...the arsehole of the cotswolds.

…the arsehole of the cotswolds.

That’s a bit harsh, now if you were talking about Melksham or Trowbidge... 😉

First time I went through Swindo outskirts, I stopped for a bite to eat and a druggy came in all gung ho with literally a massive kitchen knife wanting money by grunting out of the till. 9 police cars later, a half hearted job done badly by the constabulary.

second visit to Swindon was a liason with some desperate lass but good times were to be had and man were they had!

50/50 hell no/ f yeah

Stroud I prefer to Cirencester as has a far nicer feel to, just got to dodge 80% of the population which are basically dole grabbing scumbags who kill off duty soldiers in nightclubs.

RIP.

Cirencester is a cesspit of scum but the other end of the spectrum. The self entitled conservative only voting private land tweed salmon pink trouser old bastad brigade.

depends on budget but if I were you village life is definitely quality but at a cost of maintenance.

tetbury is a waste of ££££££££ and is a stupid place as it’s dead there.

cheltenham for the social elite and sociably awkward which attracts flies  (read scum) to sh!7.

Gloucester is down to earth and closer to FOD for riding sakes but the journey might do your nut i  on that A417.

I would consider Lechlade perhaps if needing to be close to Swindon and I believe has a train station.

  Cirencester is a cesspit of scum but the other end of the spectrum. The self entitled conservative only voting private land tweed salmon pink trouser old bastad brigade.

Genuine Lol. Cirencester is pretty scummy. Not as scummy as Stroud obviously.

Gloucester is grim. Not as grim as Stroud. Obviously.

It’s truth though. 👍😉

ha... I am from Stroud, born and grew up there... but Gloucester!... that's a whole different level.

Mmmm Uley ale ring any bells coconut? 😂 the black still stuff THE hardstuff 👍

certainly does... but it was more white lightening and special brew when I grew up there 🙂

Cirencester, ok to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there...

And again, the commute could be a hassle. Look at a road map around Swindon, and Cricklade, Highworth, Stratton St Margaret, Wroughton, Shrivenham, Chiseldon, Lydiard Millicent are all fairly close to Swindon, without being too close, nobody wants to be too close to Swindon...

I keep coming back to either Wroughton, or Royal Wootton Bassett, which isn’t a bad little town, has a proper high street, with some decent little shops, or else Old Town, which just isn’t like the rest of the town, it’s almost a village in itself.

But look at the map, and check out prices, there’s loads of smaller places, and prices can vary quite a bit.

Avoid the A417 at all costs.  Windy, you can't safely overtake slower traffic, but there are loads of reps in flash cars who overtake anyway making it a horrifying experience.  I did it daily for about four months and there were a couple of crashes a week.  They started leaving the smashed up cars on the verge to try and remind people to slow down.

I'd consider stroud, but gloucester? No. Calne and the surrounding villages are nice. Malmesbury too.

Lol Special! My fav! But only one per sitting 🤣

Born and grew up in Chepstow, currently live in Thornbury outside Bristol and have been commuting to the far side of Swindon since last May. The riding is good in Chepstow and the Wye Valley but you prob know that already if you're from the Forest. Commuting from Bristol has been fine - it's about 1.15 door to door and I've only once hit major traffic jams which is pretty good considering I have to get passed the M4/5 junction and the M32. I'd say coming from Chepstow's too far even if house prices are a little bit lower than Bristol. That said, personally, I'd rather cut my own arm off than live in Swindon. It just doesn't strike me as a particularly attractive place unless you have a penchant for stupid roundabouts. Ping me an email if you want any more specific info about Bristol or Chepstow.

Malmesbury's nice!

I lived in Highworth for a while, pleasant market town, easy access to the country side. Depends where in Swindon you'll be working. (Weather will be better than Belfast 👨‍🌾 )

That said, personally, I’d rather cut my own arm off than live in Swindon.

Tbh I'd rather live in Swindon than give myself a 75 min commute each way by car!

I'd take a small house in Marlborough if I had to work in Swindon. Nice town, and I'd never get tired of that bike commute.

I live in Cirencester and commuted to Swindon for two and a half years. It was fine. I'm just on a call, I'll be back to comment more in a bit...

 Commuting from Bristol has been fine – it’s about 1.15 door to door

2.5 hours every day stuck in your car? Each to their own, but I'd only do that if I really had no choice.

unless you have a penchant for stupid roundabouts.

Once you have worked out how the magic roundabout works, it is really quite clever.  For any given exit there are various different routes to take across the roundabout, you can choose the least congested route and keep the traffic flowing.

Don't forget the mtb trails behind nationwide and Swindon is only an hours drive from Swinley 👨‍🏭

Swindon resident here.

Social: Old Town is nice and has a decent selection of bars and restaurants, LOADS of nice country pubs within cycling distance for beer gardens in the summer

Shopping: Not great, the town centre is pretty run down but that appears to be like most towns of a similar size that I have visited. The designer outlet is ok if it's raining as it's all indoors. I prefer jumping on the train to Bath (about £14 return / 25mins) or Bristol (about £16 return 45 minutes) for a day's shopping.

Housing: Cheap in comparison to neighbouring towns 150k will get you a Victorian terraced in Old Town, £600 per month will get you a nice rented apartment.

Cycling: As others have said, nothing technical at all close by. We jump in the car for an hour to FOD or Cwmcarn for that sort of fix. We do however have some stunning bridleways / downs / Ridgeway that you can happily spend all day out on and not see a road or sometimes another person, it really is fantastic for that. Same with the road riding, plenty of quiet country lanes to choose from.

Location: Always gets mentioned when people talk about Swindon, but I can meet friends in central London in an hour from Swindon by train (it takes them the same to get across London!) and you can be in Oxford, Bath or Bristol in under 45 minutes by train too for nights / days out. One of the only drawbacks with location is that it's a couple of hours to the nearest decent stretch of coast.

Quality of life: I enjoy living here, it's affordable and not too busy is a big enough place without having the imposing touristy city feel. I can walk to a great selection of pubs and restaurants, cycle to and from work in 15 minutes and get away easily for a day out / all day drinking in another town without using the car.

Hope that helps, if you need any more info then please just give me a shout.

Okay, I'm back.

Cirencester is a nice town. Decent amount of independent shops, decent selection of pubs and places to eat. Road riding from the door is great, either up into the Cotswolds proper or down into Wiltshire. There is MTBing of the old-fashioned bridleway-bashing kind too, but it's a bit limited. If you want gnaar, you'll be travelling elsewhere; Flyup417 is 20 mins away, FOD is an hour, South Wales an hour and a half.

I worked at Nationwide in Swindon for two and a half years, took 40 minutes door to desk, that was down the A417. Occasionally there'd be an accident, but only occasionally. It's also rideable from Ciren to Swindon in just over an hour on quiet country lanes and then good cyclepaths through Swindon, I used to do it once a week.

Previously I lived in Cheltenham, I really like it, good size, good shops, lots of choice for eating and drinking, but I think a daily commute from there to Swindon would do my nut in eventually (I have done it for a few weeks, and you're looking at about an hour and a quarter each way probably).

Malmesbury is a decent shout if you want somewhere a bit smaller.

Eskimo's write-up of Swindon is very fair. Personally I wouldn't want to live in Swindon, but if I did it would be in Old Town.

PM me with any questions if you want to.

Where are you going to be working? If it was me I'd rent in Old Town for six months whilst you scout out other places.

I spent a year working in Swindon a couple of years ago.  Lodged in places near the centre, and had a good time cycling locally all year.  As said, it's probably a good idea to rent somewhere in the middle of Swindon for 6 months while you figure out where you really want to live, partly as Swindon is fairly cheap for housing.

I met some really good people from Swindon MTB enthusiasts  http://swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk and MB Swindon  http://www.mbswindon.co.uk if you are interested in riding with some groups, and was riding most evenings during the week.