Swindon area – what's the riding like?

Did suggest the villages surrounding Calne! I did actually look at a few houses there myself and whilst the houses were fine, it is a rather down-at-heel town.

Interesting buildings with stables, due to being on the coach road from London to Bath, cobbled streets, huge church, ghastly precinct with er ghastly people. New estate on the west side of town that looks OK location-wise.

Was thinking of adding a comment until DavidB wrote it for me 😆

Would echo his comments particularly about RWB 😉

I’m in a village between Lyneham and Calne (no prizes for guessing), wouldn’t want to live in either of them but happy where I am, very quiet which I like.

Traffic between RWB and M4 can be a mare, if you were going to Reading though getting on this end (earlyish I assume) would be ok.

Do you RWB haterz feel that way because it was on the telly and now everyone there thinks they’re special <insert winking smiley thing>, or is there something particular about the place?

Would prob be getting on the M4 at 7:30 ish so hopefully not too busy at that time?

My friend is quite happy living there. Parking in the High Street isn’t easy apparently. I guess really it’s pretty much a suburb of Swindon, is it?

It is difficult when you have kids but when my friend’s kids were teenagers, she did worry about them going clubbing in Swindon.

Now let me clarify a minute, I wouldn’t class myself as a RWB hater 😯
but as DavidB said it is mediocre.
What the town did on the repatriations was fantastic and a credit to them, however the feeling I got from the people that live there is most of them were pleased when the repatriations finished.

The senior school in RWB is I believe (not having kids) very highly rated (a mates Mrs works there)

Getting on M4 at that time would be no problem.

People parking on the High St is a pain, there’s a massive car park round the back of the shops which people don’t like to use as they seem to prefer interupting the traffic by trying to park on the High St 🙄

for the love of everything that is good, right and true DO NOT MOVE NEAR THAT HOLE!!

look at Hungerford. close enough to the M4 and just far enough from the “anus of the south”

And as for needing to use your imagination when riding around Swindon, I wholeheartedly agree, I spent ages trying to convince myself I was elsewhere. Then I moved to Exmoor.

I’m not sure how the riding around Swindon can be so good, yet non-existent around RWB; you only have to look at this map of the area to see that Swindon’s the wrong side of the M4, for a start, you have to get across that and down through Wroughton to pick up the Downs.

MrNutt – you mean Swindon, RWB, or both?

Hungerford looks lovely, as does Marlborough, unfortunately from what I’ve seen it’s too expensive for us.

I definitely approve of Cirencester.

A few more suggestions.

Shrivenham, Highworth, Cricklade, Lambourne.

Although it sounds like you need VFM so I’ll suggest New Town in Swindon again. Despite what the Count says going through Wroughton to the Ridgway is no problem as is going through Coate Water Park over the M4 footbridge and up to Chiseldon. Takes 20 mins or so

RWB + Wroughton are part of Swindon, so much the same, with the exception that the inhabitants have a slight superiority complex over the Swindoners.

Calne is the armpit of Wiltshire.

The MTBing is saved by the fact that close access to the M4 makes it easy to go elsewhere. The road club is pretty active though.

Going back to the riding around Swindon, for MTB you’ve got the downs/ridgeway which I’ve been riding on since I was a kid. I’s not great this time of year unless it freezes in which case it’s great (if you like big open spaces and are not after anything technical). In the summer you have a whole day’s off-road riding from Swindon, I live on the west side of town but can easily get across town and into the hills without going on the roads. There’s a cycle track from the west to Old Town, from there to Coate Water or up Ladder Lane and you’re then out in the sticks.

The Croft Trail is ace. It’s not Wales, granted, but it is a lot of fun and better than you would believe for a tiny area.

The road riding around here is great too. I commute a couple of times a week to Hungerford by bike and it is a really beautiful ride (not so much tonight in the damp / snow mind).

People have mentioned Hngerford and Marlborough and I can see why but Hungerford stikes me as a strange place with more antique shops and tweed than is healthy. Nothing much to do for kids (here is a swimming pool at the school and that seems to be about it). Marlborough is lovely, pretty posh and very very busy in summer. Savernake forest is right next door, which is nice for picnics (not so grea for biking IMO) and you have the Pewsey Downs nearby which are lovely.

The area to the south and south-east of Swindon is generally the best for biking, both road and mtb IMO. The Cotswolds are good too but you have to go further away from Swindon to get to the best bits.

For living, Wootton Bassett is OK, nothing special really. Quite nice small town (not really a subhurb of Swindon although very near). Wroughton is alright, masses of 1960’s estate housing which you either like or don’t. Old Town is where lots of people would say is the pace to go if you have to be in Swindon itself, personally I prefer to be on the edge of Town for a relatively quiet life. I am within a short walk of Lydiard Park which is a great place for kids.

Sorry I have gone on and on. To sum up, I live in the place, it’s fine as a place to live and if you find the right area for you a great place for kids too.

Would agree the town centre should be avoided if at all possible though.

if hungerford is too pricey try around Pewsey, Devizes, The Collingbournes, Lockeridge, or if you really must, Chiseldon

Countzero – from Swindon to the downs you go through Coate Water then over the wiggly bridge. The wiggly bridge is ace, every town should have one. Wootton Bassett doesn’t Swindon does. QED.

But if you’re not a fan of wiggly bridges you can go up Ladder Lane. Ladder Lane is an amazing descent when dry and an epic when wet. Wootton Bassett does not have a Ladder Lane. Swindon does. QED some more.

Both of those routes go nowhere near Wroughton.

Thanks Marvin/all – very helpful.

I used to work at RAF Lyneham and there’s a natty blast right round the outside of the perimeter fence. You’ll get a bit muddy but its all rideable in pretty much the worst conditions.

Personally I was thinking it might have improved since the repatriations stopped and the TV cameras left (not that I’d know).

Wootty B had/has a lot more about it than its association with the repatriation ceremonies and its not as if the press had an outstation there!!!

But you needn’t worry now about scary military types daring to disturb the general public with such interruptions now the base has closed 🙄

Go on then mikertroid I’ve known WB for 30 years, please tell me the good bits, apart from the pottys in the Borough Arms or my old maths teacher pissed in the Couriers

Sorry – didn’t mean to sound insensitive. I’ve no experience of RWB other than what I’ve seen on the TV and I applaud the empathy and kindness the town as a whole showed. It just occurred to me that a large majority of the rest of the country would be in a similar position to me and that to the actual population of RWB it might feel like a bit of a media circus.

I’d imagine that being known for just that one thing can get a bit tired, you yourself felt the need to say there’s more to it than the ceremonies.

Pretty sure we’re in agreement, hopefully I haven’t come across as more insensitive in trying to explain!

I’d actually forgotten the Coate Water/wiggly bridge route, it’s been quite some time since I was out that way. As you say, the wiggly bridge is awesomz! There really ought to be more of them, great fun. I’ve driven in and out of Swindon lots over the years via Avebury and Wroughton into Old Town, which is a lovely part of Swindon. A close friend used to live there, and I’ve been to gigs at the Arts Center there several times. The Town Gardens are very nice, too. Riding that road isn’t something I’d choose to do, but I don’t know a route, other than the Coate Water towards Marlborough on the Sustrans route.
I’d ignore llama, he really seems to have a few issues to resolve.
The main reason I said Wroughton was because I did a sponsored ride from the Swindon side of the motorway, down towards Wroughton and then onto the Ridgeway, Barbury Castle, Rockley, then back towards the Ridgeway and Wroughton. I still ride a big chunk of the route, but starting in Avebury. Not living around Swindon I’m not familiar with what’s available up there, only what’s south of the M4.

I’ve grown up in Swindon and while it’s not amazing, I can’t see why it gets such a bad rap. Yeah, it’s pretty boring, but there’s cinemas and swimming polls and all that stuff and the riding’s really not that terrible.

With the recent volunteer work, Croft is getting to be pretty much all-weather and you can cover a lot of miles out on the Ridgeway if that’s your thing. Personally I quite like those long routes with lots of climbs and descents, and the Ridgeway lets you see lots of different terrains, with wide open stuff and wooded areas.

Basically, it’s not amazing, but it’s really not as bad as people make out if you’re prepared to really stare at a map for inspiration. Also, ladder lane is pretty great if it’s nice and dry.

Actually, I take back everything I said above^^^

When I wrote that, I was remembering the last time everything was dry and enjoyable. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been like that since summer 2011. The soil round here is basically clay. Whenever it rains this clay either turns into deep, energy sapping, wheel sucking bogs, or glazes over and becomes incredibly slick and pretty dangerous to ride at speed, but mostly just deep clay. Once it gets like this, it takes probably a month of sunshine to dry out, and when did that last happen? And once it does dry out, the local trails (basically just the ridgeway, which is just a long, wide bridleway) are pretty mediocre anyway.

Basically, if you enjoy mountain biking stay as far away from Swindon as you possibly can. Otherwise, you may as well just buy a road bike.

Two polar opposite views in less than 24 hours from the same person. You grew up in Swindon you say?! 😆

Basically, if you enjoy mountain biking stay as far away from Swindon as you possibly can. Otherwise, you may as well just buy a road bike.

I have one of those too and would imagine the road biking is excellent around there (other than on CGs pot-holed roads).

Yeah, was trying to be optimistic yesterday, but went for a ride earlier and it was just miserable.

I wonder if the oasis BMX track is still there??, i loved that track!!

giant4x. It was 6 months ago when I last went there but the Oasis has now been sold by the council and might be knocked down soon

Good suggestion from MrNutt about the Collingbournes – that’s Ducis and Kingston. Very close to some superb xc riding, also Collingbourne Woods singletrack but there needs to have been a drought before venturing there.

Devizes has the most awful traffic due to many roads converging on it and out of it.

I’ve lived around Pewsey area for most of my life and still finding/being shown new trails.
There’s plenty of places to ride all round Pewsey vale, marlborough downs, the ridgeway, wansdyke, the plains etc …no need for any driving.(bit limited at the moment but plains are fine)

There’s a few of us who usually go out for evening rides once or twice a week (when it’s not so horrible!)
Pewsey has it’s own train station and only around 20 mins to M4.

Actually we’re looking to move …4 bed semi anyone? 😀

It was 6 months ago when I last went there but the Oasis has now been sold by the council and might be knocked down soon

Typical of Thamesdown Council, that. After years of doing bugger-all with it, they re-discover it, start putting on decent gigs, which gets in lots of people, then they sell it! 🙄
They did the same with the popular café at Barbury Castle; kicked the tenants off the farm, then let the vandals in to torch it, and don’t even have any refreshment facilities up there in a van or caravan. Incompetent idiots.

Tonyd: no worries!

DaveB: we lived in Lyneham but wootty b worked well for us with a young family. Swimming Pool, enough shops to avoid the need to drive into Swindon, it’s got good schools etc etc. It’s no Malborough but its functional!

We used the Cotswold water park all the time (20 mins from Wootty B) and with the M4 on your doorstep, it was easy to get to Wales or London.

I’m further south (right on the plain) and there are some great places this way. Devizes is as mentioned a traffic nightmare!

People seem to be ignoring Wantage and the surrounding area, lived there for a whil and it is an ok town, one of the ex big hitters used to live in Grove which is a bit grim. Easy access to Reading good bike scene good school, usual compliment of nutters and a really unpleasant pikey family who you will hear of but unless your unlucky will never come across. Train to town from Didcot which is a 15 minute drive.

Always seems to get overlooked.

and don’t even have any refreshment facilities up there in a van or caravan. Incompetent idiots.

Last time I was up there I’m sure I spotted a planning application for a new cafe stuck to a telegraph pole.

I live in Grove, really dont bother looking here. As for Wantage bike scene? Theres only one shop here and they only sell Trek.
The mountain biking while there are lots of bridleways they are super dull and beaten down by all the horses and 4WD. I now pretty much only road ride.

They did the same with the popular café at Barbury Castle; kicked the tenants off the farm, then let the vandals in to torch it, and don’t even have any refreshment facilities up there in a van or caravan. Incompetent idiots.

I remember using the Cafe around 15 years ago at least. It was excellent. 🙂 Didn’t realise it was attached to the farm though, was the local Council to blame?

Trouble is in Winter it’s such a mess around that area. Was up there last week and not sure whether I can be bothered again. Took an hour to clean my bike. 🙁 Having said that, I do love the Downs. 8)

frepster you miserable sod 😀 well you do live in Grove 😆 the only shop organises weekly rides and is pretty friendly. Yes hammered bridleways is the norm but there was some okish riding to be done.