Start Point: Victoria Road, Old Town, Swindon
Countryside Rangers Office: 01793 771419
Ordnance Survey: Explorer 169 - grid ref:SU155839
Distance: approx. 2km (1.2 miles)
Time: approx. 1 hour
Walk Conditions:
The Old Town Rail Path is flat and fairly wide but can become muddy after rain. Leaving the Rail Path there are five or six steps to descend which will restrict wheelchair access. It is suggested that wheelchair users return to Station Approach and access Town Gardens from there. The rest of the walk is on paved surfaces.
Stand
outside the BBC Wiltshire Station and look down Victoria
Road into Swindon.On the hill at Swindon Old Town you are, geographically speaking, standing on a bit of an anomaly...
Old Town's hill, compared to its surroundings, is a bit of a newcomer to the area. Sticking up 120' above its surroundings it's a dollop of younger Jurassic rock surrounded by a sea of older clay
Cross over Victoria Road, at the zebra crossing, and head down Union Street
to Christ Church. Cross over Cricklade Street and enter the churchyard of
Christ Church. You are standing opposite Christ Church, on Cricklade Street. The local Swindon Stone, that the church is built with, was created at a time when Swindon was hot, humid and much nearer the equator.
In
the churchyard of Christ Church follow the path around to the left of the
church. At the side entrance of the church walk up to the walls and take
a closer look at the Swindon Stone the church is built with.. Looking at the Swindon Stone that Christ Church is built with you are actually looking at a fossilised Jurassic Sea Bed. And if you look closer you can actually spot bits of seashell and sand.
But shells and sand aside Swindon Stone is actually made up of material that has literally gone through a fish's stomach. We're talking fish pooh here..
Leave
Christ Church and turn left on Cricklade Street and head towards the High
Street. Most of the older buildings in Swindon are made of Portland Stone including the Town Hall built in 1852 and the Italiante tower built to the left of the Town Hall as a Corn Exchange in 1864-6.
Now boarded up number 42, further along Cricklade Street, was once described as 'the finest piece of domestic Architecture in Swindon.' Built in 1729 it marries together not only local sandstone but clay from the vale as well.
At
Market Square turn right into Newport Street. At the traffic lights, just
before Devizes Road, turn left into Station Approach. Follow the path around
to the left and as you enter the industrial estate turn right and follow
the signs to the Old Town Rail Path. Walk along the Old Town Rail Path and under the Devizes Road bridge. Just after the Springfield Road bridge you will see, on your right, a signpost marking this area as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest.
Walking along the Old Town Rail Path you will come across, on your right hand side, an English Heritage SSSI sign. Here's your chance to take a closer look at the exposed rock face of Swindon's Portland Stone.
Stop
at the signpost, marking this area as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest,
and take a closer look at the rock face of Swindon's Portland Stone.
Looking closely at the rock face of Portland Stone see if you can spot the layer of broken up shells, cockles and other bi-valves that lived in Swindon's Jurassic sea.
Continue
to walk along the Old Town Rail Path for about quarter
of a mile until you see, on your left hand side, a small plank bridge. Cross
the bridge, past the bench, and look for the view over the valley known
as Swindon's Front Garden.Looking out across Swindon's Front Garden you get the chance of seeing both older and younger rock formations together. From the older Kimmeridge Clay in the valleys to the Chalk Downs. Look out for the Ridgeway and evidence of early clay valley farmers.
Walk
for quarter of a mile until you reach a footpath that runs under the Old
Town Rail Path. Take the steps, on the right, down to the path and turn
right. Walk up the hill towards Westlecot Road. Walk along Westlecot Road
for a quarter of a mile until you reach Town Gardens. Turn left into The
Quarries just before the entrance to Town Gardens. . On the corner of The Quarries, set into a garden wall, you can see a series of local ammonites found in Swindon quarries. The largest, an ammonite called a Titanites giganteus, is 150 Million years old. .
Walk
to the end of The Quarries and at the very end turn right into Town Gardens.
Turn left past the old GWR Refreshment Kiosk and turn left again down to
the Swindon Bowl. In steps, on both the left and right, leading down to
the Bowl you will see lots of ammonites.Standing opposite the Swindon Bowl take the steps on you left and turn right at the path at the top of the steps. Turn right on the next path and head towards Quarry Road. Turn left on Quarry Road and at the end of the road turn right on to Bath Road. At the mini roundabout at the end of Bath Road turn left and you'll find yourself back on Victoria Road.
