Old Town Railway Path

The railway path, part of National Cycle Network route 45, runs round the south of Swindon on a high embankment. Estate paths and residential roads extend it in each direction, joining with the Western Flyer and Coate Water. It’s not tarmaced but the surface is reasonable in most weathers. It’s a useful route if you need to get from east to west without hitting the town centre.

The Western Flyer

This traffic-free path might not have the romance its name implies, but it’s a fantastically useful route nonetheless. It’s the main cycle route from West Swindon to the town centre, passing from Eastleaze, via Rodbourne, to the station. The two useful underpasses beneath Great Western Way and the mainline railway are greatly preferable to traffic lights and bridges. It’s just a shame that the path gives out a short way before the station.

Cycle hire and shops

Bike hire is available from a small number of locations in Swindon, including Swindon Cycles in Upper Stratton and Re-Cycles in the town centre. The town has a good number of bike shops, though Red Planet Bikes is still much missed.

Bike life

Underneath the Brunel West car park, a secure 300-space bike park has been built. A one-off charge of £10 gets swipe-card access to this CCTV-monitored area. It’s a very practical way for town centre workers to commute by bike.

There’s cycle parking at the edges of the pedestrianised shopping centre, but it’s rare elsewhere. The Wroughton Park & Ride site on the south of the town has bike parking; sadly, the town’s other Park & Ride site was closed in 2009.

Swindon BUG (Bicycle User Group) is the town’s cycle campaign. Swindon Borough Council is also active in promoting cycling and runs a website, Swindon Travel Choices, encouraging residents to travel by bike, on foot or by bus. The council has commissioned a printed cycle map (also available to download as a PDF), which deservedly won an award in 2013.

The roads

Swindon’s residential roads are extensively traffic calmed, making them more attractive for cyclists. In the older estates, such as Park North and South, Penhill and Toothill, these will be the mainstay of your cycling. Often, supposed cul-de-sacs have a little cut-through path at the end, so the cyclist can cross from one quiet road to another without it becoming a through-route for cars.

As a result, car traffic is pushed onto main arterial roads which, needless to say, aren’t enjoyable to cycle. Several – such as Queens Drive (to the south-east) and Oxford Road (to the east) – have safe, parallel cycling routes. These aren’t engineered to the latest standards, and you’ll need to keep an eye out for traffic approaching from side-roads, but it’s preferable to mixing it with the busy traffic on the main carriageway. Switching off its speed cameras earned the local council notoriety, and there is no town-wide 20mph limit yet, but in our experience most drivers are fairly respectful.

The least hospitable roads are the main roads in from Highworth, Shrivenham, and Wootton Bassett, to which there are no ready alternatives.

Swindon is a fairly flat town, with the exception of Old Town, which is uphill from everywhere.