New Swindon trails bring history and nature to all

People can discover more of Swindon with six new walking trails across the borough.

On Friday 26 July Swindon Travel Choices will officially launch the six trails, which are: 

- The Butterfly trail - along Old Town Railway Path from Mannington to Old Town
- The Fish trail - a loop of Coate Water
- The Bear trail - around Swindon’s Railway Village to Steam
- The Dragonfly trail - along the canal from Wichelstowe to the town centre
- The Pig trail - along the Eastern Flyer from Greenbridge to the town centre
- The Squirrel trail - around Lydiard Park

Six different trail leaflets will be available to pick up from Swindon’s core libraries - Central, West, North, Highworth and Park - and partner locations.

Partner locations include:

- Coate Water café, Coate Water Country Park
- Old Town Library, Devizes Road, SN1 4BJ
- Forest café, Lydiard Park
- Steam, Firefly Avenue, SN2 2EY

People can also download trail leaflets from the Swindon Travel Choices website.

Cllr Chris Watts, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Transport, said “We’re delighted to have six walking trails running this summer for everyone to take part in and we’d love to see as many families as possible discovering more of Swindon’s local arts, heritage, and historical sites that can be seen on the routes.

“Don’t forget that as well as improving your health, you’ll also be in with a chance of winning prizes including, t-shirts, STEAM Museum family passes and walking books.”

The trails, which are all between one and three miles long, will take families to some great local arts, heritage, and historical sites, as well as places of natural beauty. There is a limited edition badge available for the first 200 people to complete each challenge, while everyone who completes one of the trails will gain an entry into the grand prize draw.

Wherever possible, the routes have been designed to be accessible, with alternative suggestions provided if this is not the case. Details for getting to the start of each of the walks by public transport is also provided.

One lucky winner will receive £100 supermarket voucher in the grand prize draw, while five runners-up prizes for each trail will also be given out including t-shirts, Steam family passes, walking books and food hampers.

Residents can enter the prize draw online from the Swindon Travel Choices website, by scanning the QR code on the trail leaflets or by posting their entry form in the post box at the partner locations when collecting a badge.

The challenge will finish on Sunday 8 September, with the grand prize draw taking place on Monday 16 September.