Parks and open spaces Archives - Page 2 of 5

First World War Memorial: GWR Park

May 5, 2019 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces, Public art-sculpture

I’ve been meaning for long enough to get some photographs of this memorial in the GWR Park on the blog. It had its unveiling back in November 2018.

River Ray Parkway Walk Part 1

Jun 22, 2018 | Parks and open spaces, Walks and cycle paths

The River Ray Parkway is a green walking and cycling route, introduced in 1991 as part of the Great Western Community Forest scheme, it ran for 8 miles from Coate Water to Moulden Hill.

It was expanded from the original effort to create the Swindon Old Town Rail Path, developed with the help of Sustrans, then a small Bristol group formed to create better walking and cycling routes.

Swindon Town Gardens

Apr 21, 2017 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces

As I’ve mentioned on this blog more than once – Swindon is blessed with some wonderful green spaces. The Swindon Town Gardens up in Old Town being one of them. Read about some more of them here: https://swindonian.me/category/parks-and-open-spaces/

Angel Ridge Play Area

May 14, 2016 | Parks and open spaces, Public art-sculpture

Not having got any small children I’m not au fait with the town’s play parks. However, I have a friend with a small daughter and sometimes visit a play park with them. And a few weeks ago we went to the Angel Ridge play area. It’s taken me weeks to get round to posting on it!

10 things to celebrate about Swindon

Aug 2, 2015 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces, Public art-sculpture, Ten things to celebrate about Swindon, The Magic Roundabout

Back in 2013, when I conceived this blog, my starting point was 10 things to celebrate about Swindon.

his was a non-definitive list, in no particular order, of things that I felt worth shouting about. The list encompassed parks, public art, artists, museums and even the buses. Though, TBH, I’ve changed my mind about the buses. (2020)

Queen’s Park in Swindon

Aug 1, 2015 | Parks and open spaces, Public art-sculpture

If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” So said Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of children’s classic, The Secret Garden.

Well, be that as it may we can easily say that the whole of Swindon is a garden. Or a park or green space at any rate – given that here in Swindon we are astonishingly well-blessed with leafy and open spaces. It is quite astonishing when you stop to think about it. You can read about some of them here: https://swindonian.me/category/parks-and-open-spaces/

Coate Water Miniature Railway Swindon

Jul 22, 2015 | Parks and open spaces

August 2015

Hurrah!! After twenty-two years in Swindon I made it to the miniature railway at Coate Water. It was great. And when the extension is finished and it runs all the way to the Richard Jefferies museum it will be even more wicked! As the nearly-two-year-old I was with said “Choo choo’:

Lawn Park

Nov 23, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces

So what is Lawn? Lawn Park is a 50 acre park that was once the house and estate of the Goddard family – the Lords of the Manor of Old Swindon. Their house is now long gone and the estate is now a public park though their name lives on in the nearby pub and hotel, The Goddards Arms. According to Swindon Web the 18th century house stood on the site of a Tudor Mansion. The Goddard family were Lords of the Manor from 1563 until 1927.

The Western Flyer

May 29, 2014 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces, Walks and cycle paths

So what is the Western Flyer then? It’s an upgrade of an existing cycle and pedestrian route that goes from West Swindon to the town centre via Barnfield, Bruce Street Bridges and North Star, bringing you into town across from Holbrook House on Station Rd. It incorporates National Cycle Network Route 45 . The National cycle network is a ‘series of safe, traffic-free lanes and quiet on-road routes that connect to every major city and passes within a mile of 55 per cent of UK homes. It now stretches 14,500 miles across the length and breadth of the UK.

Hagbourne Copse West Swindon

May 5, 2014 | General Interest, Parks and open spaces, Walks and cycle paths

I’m lost for words. Well okay, that’s never going to actually happen but the expression gives an indication of my surprise at finding out about this delight tucked away behind a busy main road, an industrial estate and the Holiday Inn Express. Well, I’ve only lived here the twenty years so how could I possibly be expected to know eh? Even worse, Hagbourne Copse West Swindon is only 15 minutes walk from my home in Grange Park.

Coate Water diving platform Swindon

Nov 30, 2013 | Architecture in Swindon, Arts/Culture/Heritage, Parks and open spaces

The now-defunct 1935 Art Deco style diving platform at Coate Water invokes a fair amount of nostalgia in me. As a child I was sometimes taken to Langold Lake (5 miles the ‘other’ side of Worksop). This was a large country park thing – my memories are hazy as it was MANY years ago now. But I recall a swimming lake with a diving platform in it.

Kiln Park West Swindon

Jun 26, 2013 | Arts/Culture/Heritage, General Interest, Parks and open spaces, Public art-sculpture

Tree with tiles round - West Swindon 28th September 2014: Old post updated Kiln Park It's interesting how, since starting this blog, I've begun noticing things more. Apropos the subject of this post it's less a case of noticing and more a case of paying some actual...