Things to Do in Swindon — The Local Guide
From the STEAM railway museum and Lydiard Park to Coate Water Country Park and the Designer Outlet — your guide to the best days out in and around Swindon.
Swindon is Wiltshire's largest town, and while it is best known as a railway town and a commuter hub on the M4 and the Great Western main line, it has a genuinely strong set of attractions. Here is our guide to the best things to do.
STEAM — Museum of the Great Western Railway
Swindon exists because of the Great Western Railway. In the 1840s the GWR built its main locomotive works here, and at its peak the Swindon Works covered more than 300 acres and was one of the largest railway engineering sites in the world, operating from 1843 until 1986. STEAM tells that story from inside a beautifully restored 1840s workshop in the former works.
The museum covers the life of the GWR's engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the building of the railway, and — movingly — the lives of the generations of Swindon families who built and maintained the locomotives. It is the essential first stop for understanding the town.
Lydiard Park
On the western edge of Swindon, Lydiard Park is a 260-acre country estate centred on Lydiard House, a Grade I listed Palladian mansion. The grounds include a restored Georgian walled garden, the medieval St Mary's Church, an ornamental lake, and woodland walks. It is one of Swindon's most popular days out, free to walk in, and a favourite for picnics, dog walks, and family visits.
Coate Water Country Park
Coate Water, just off junction 15 of the M4 on the south side of town, is built around a large 1820s reservoir and is now a country park with a lakeside walk, a nature reserve and bird hides, a children's splash park, adventure golf, a miniature railway, fishing, and a cafe. Look out for the striking listed 1930s Art Deco diving platform, a survivor from the days of open-air swimming. The nearby Richard Jefferies Museum, in the birthplace of the celebrated nature writer, is worth combining with a visit.
Swindon Designer Outlet
Housed in the magnificently converted main buildings of the old GWR works, the McArthurGlen Swindon Designer Outlet is one of the largest covered designer outlets in the UK, with well over 100 brand stores plus cafes and restaurants — and the original heritage cranes and architecture still on display overhead.
Culture in the town centre
In the town centre, the Wyvern Theatre hosts touring shows, music, and comedy, and the Museum of Computing at Theatre Square — the UK's first dedicated museum of computing history — is a hands-on treat for families and tech fans alike.
Get out into the countryside
Swindon sits right on the edge of superb walking country. The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Ridgeway National Trail, and Barbury Castle Iron Age hillfort are all within a short drive to the south, around Wroughton and the Marlborough Downs.
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