Swindon Holidays: Things To See and Do When You Visit Swindon
The town of Swindon is to be found in the county of Wiltshire, England and can be easily reached by road or railway. It lies around forty miles from Bristol and 40 miles from Reading. It is also around eighty miles from London.
Certainly for those who wish to explore the myriad of attractions that the country of Wiltshire has to offer then Swindon makes an ideal place. There are lots of good quality hotels in Swindon and the surrounding area. As for places to visit there is Cotswold Wildlife Park to the north of the town along with Cotswold Water Park. Other places to visit include Bowood House and Lacock Abbey.
There are lots of places to see that are closer to Swindon and her we take a look at some of these.
The first place of interest that is only around a 30 minute drive from Swindon is Avebury Stone Circle. This is larger than Stonehenge but less famous. But you still have the opportunity unlike at Stonehenge which is short drive away to wander around the stones and get up close and personal with them.
Avebury Stone circle encompasses part of the village where it is located. Plus surrounding it are ditches and external banks and for you to approach the village you would have had to walk through an avenue of the stones. Originally the stones were left lying on the ground until an archaeologist by the name of Alexander Keiller decided to re-erect them in the 1930′s. Today there is a museum on the site that houses a seventeenth Century thatched threshing barn and tells you about the sites history. The museum is quite hands on and interactive.
To the north of Swindon is Cotswold Wildlife Park which houses a wide variety of animals from across the world. Along with rhinos, leopards and primates there is a pride of Asiatic lions. There are also smaller mammals such as meerkats together with penguins and other tropical birds. Certainly for a family day out this is a wonderful place to go when the weather is great. For the children to help get rid of some of that energy they have they can try out the adventure playground. Plus during the summer months they have the chance to get close up and personal with some animals and watch some wonderful birds of prey.
Another place of interest is Lacock Abbey which was converted into a house in around 1540. Yet even so the sacristy ceiling, chapter house, monastic rooms and medieval cloisters have remained largely intact. But along with exploring the abbey and the 16th Century stable courtyard there is also the Museum of Photography for you to explore as well. This museum was established to commemorate the life of the inventor William Fox Talbot who resided at the Abbey between 1800 and 1877. If you think you recognize this building then it has been used a number of times as location for TV and film productions including the Harry Potter films.
When you next stay in Swindon, choose your Swindon hotel here.
