Located in the county of Wiltshire, and around 80 miles west of London, is the town of Swindon.

The town's history goes back several centuries. In Saxon times before the Norman Conquest, there was a small farming community in the area. By the 13th century it had become a small market town. Its population remained relatively small for several centuries. In the first Cenus of 1801 there were 1,198 residents recorded.

A number of factors contributed towards a major growth spurt in Swindon. The first being the opening of the Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal in 1810, and later the North Wiltshire Canal in 1819. Then in 1835 the railway arrived, with Swindon situated between London and Bristol on the Great Western Railway line. Under orders of Great Western's chief engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Swindon was to become the location of the Railway Works for GWR i.e. the centre for construction and maintenance.

As the station was situated over a mile away from the town in what is today referred to as Old Swindon, a railway village was constructed within easy commuting distance, with 300 houses completed by the mid 1860s. This was the beginning of what would become New Swindon. In 1900 Queen Victoria signed the charter granting Swindon Municipal Borough status, which in doing so, merged Old Swindon to the south, to New Swindon to the north. The walk begins in Old Swindon and crosses into New Swindon, demonstrating the stark contrast between the two.

During the Second World War, the Great Western Railway Works was repurposed for construction of military hardware including parts for guns, tanks and submarines. After the war, Swindon was designated as an overspill town with around 14,000 people from Blitz-damaged London moving in.

In the 1970s the M4 motorway opened, connecting Swindon to London to the east and South Wales to the West. Shortly after, the notorious Magic Roundabout was constructed. Consisting of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle, it has been voted the fourth scariest junction in Britain. Also in the '70s the Brunel Shopping Centre opened and Swindon's town centre was pedestrianised. Swindon's Great Western Railway Works closed in 1986.

Famous people from Swindon include Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, Nick Hewer off The Apprentice and Billie Piper. Also the band XTC formed in Swindon in 1972.

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Filmed: 16th April 2021

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/T9WKtH1VQ13uYDwJ7

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 High Street
1:12 Wood Street
2:52 Bath Road
3:07 Victoria Road
9:10 Regent Circus
11:55 Regent Street
14:16 Havelock Street
15:00 Havelock Square
16:20 Wharf Green
16:55 Canal Walk
18:24 The Parade
19:54 Fleming Way
20:57 Fleet Street
22:30 Bridge Street