Things to do in Swindon: family attractions, free places and rainy day fun
When we made an unexpected move to the Wiltshire-Oxfordshire border after a couple of years living abroad, we found ourselves with the opportunity to play tourist in our own backyard. Read on to discover the fun family attractions, wet day activities and free places we have visited in and around Swindon so far.
We haven’t seen it all yet! There’s also a list of places I want to visit before we make our next move.
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STEAM in Swindon
This is a brilliant museum is my top recommendation if you’re looking for things to do in Swindon on a rainy day. It tells the story of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the people who made it happen.
There’s loads of interactive displays, real locos and historic scenes to walk through. You definitely don’t need to be a train spotter to enjoy it. My dad is a model railway enthusiast so was in his element. But my teen and pre-teen girls were equally interested in the hands on activities and storytelling of STEAM.
Give yourselves a couple of hours to look around and keep an eye out for kids offers in the school holidays. Use the parking for Swindon’s Designer Outlet which is right nextdoor.
Find out more about visiting STEAM.
Eastcott Pottery Studios
This lovely little Swindon studio is somewhere we have visited after school for a crafty hour pottery painting. You can also book in for pottery throwing workshops and full day experiences.
There’s free parking outside on Eastcott Hill and you can get refreshments from Mams Cafe alongside the studios.
Find out more about opening times and activites.
Lydiard Park
Lydiard Park on the West of Swindon was one of the first places we visited for a walk. We found loads of families there enjoying picnics on the lawns around Lydiard House Museum. There’s also playgrounds for tiny tots and bigger kids.
The grounds are free to explore – just pay for parking. If you want to splash some cash you can pay for entry to the museum, the walled garden and the Jungle Parc high ropes course.
Find out more about visiting Lydiard Park.
Butterfly World & Farm Park
We spent an hour or so meeting the mammals, birds, insects and reptiles at this small, no frills zoo and farm attraction that comes with a garden centre, restaurants, soft play and craft workshops.
The lizards and snakes were a highlight for our reptile-loving 11-year-old, but she also wanted to adopt the kid goats, otters and rabbits.
Complete your trip with a visit to one of the restaurants for toasties, jackets or pasty meals or a generous slab of cake. Find Butterfly World and Farm Park at Studley Grange to the South West of Swindon.
Find out more about Butterfly World at Studley Grange.
White Horse Hill
Just across the Wiltshire border, Oxford’s highest hill is a 20 minute drive East from Swindon and is the best place to get the lay of the land.
You can also bag the trig point, storm the remains of Uffington Castle and get up close with the iconic Bronze Age chalk horse.
But there’s much more to this landscape than first meets the eye. The hill was carved by a glacier in the Ice Age leaving plains all around. And it saw pre-historic people pass by on Britain’s oldest road well before the horse and castle appeared.
It’s also a place of myths and legends. The battle between Saint George and the Dragon is said to have taken place on an outcrop below the hill’s 262m peak. An alternative theory is that Uther Pendragon was buried here.
Today White Horse Hill watches over six English counties. The 360 degree views are stunning, making it a pretty good place for a wander, roll or picnic.
We use the National Trust carpark (use SN7 7QJ to find it). The hill is free to visit. Just pay for parking or it’s free for National Trust members.
Find out more about White Horse Hill.
Coleshill National Trust
This charming village and sprawling parkland are a delight to walk around, but there’s more to Coleshill than meets the eye. During the Second World War this was the General Headquarters for Winston Churchill’s Auxiliary Units – a top-secret army tasked with forming a resistance movement should the Nazis invade.
History walks are available on selected dates (we haven’t made one yet) or you can explore the estate and refuel with a light lunch or, my top recommendation, coffee and cake from Blake’s Kitchen in the Carpenters Yard. There’s also a National Trust honestly bookshop here and boards recording recent wildlife sightings.
Find out more about visiting Coleshill Estate.
Millets Farm
This place is a bit of a local legend. However, when we were brand new to the area, we haphazardly stumbled across it while looking for a garden centre. It’s that and so much more!
We have returned to Millets Farm several times for seasonal events like the maize maze, pumpkin picking and Illuminate Oxford at Christmas.
It’s also worth a visit on any ordinary weekend for a lovely lunch at The Farmhouse Kitchen, a spin around the fairground and to say hello to the farm animals.
Entrance to see the farm animals, the outdoor the playground and picnic area is free. Just pay for extra activities like the fairground, Wildside animal park, Wild Wheels off road course and Sprouts play barn.
It’s very rare that we leave without treating ourselves to yummy Purbeck Ice Cream from The Snack Shack.
Millets is half an hour North East of Swindon.
Find out more about what’s on at Millets Farm.
Day trips to Oxford
Moving to West Oxfordshire provided us with a great springboard for exploring the countryside and also Oxford itself – somewhere I last visited in my teens.
There are good bus connections from Swindon to Oxford – Stagecoach’s S6 Gold runs every 15 minutes at peak times – or you could catch the train.
We have chosen to use the park and ride each time we have visited as we live outside Swindon itself. Redbridge or the Sea Court park and rides are the ones to aim for when driving from Swindon.
During our first visit we spent a very unplanned day meandering through Harry Potter filming spots among the university colleges, browsing the covered market and visiting the free Natural History Museum.
I highly recommend the coffee and cake at CHICK PEA; it’s also on my list of places return for their salad bar.
Followup trips have been less about sightseeing and more about Westgate Shopping Centre – the girls insisted! Teen parents: warn off you bank manager!
Mapped: places we’ve visited around Swindon
More things to do in and around Swindon
Our work here is not done! Before our inevitable next move (thanks to Mr Tin Box’s military job), these are a few of the places on my bucketlist:
- Swindon & Cricklade Railway
- Museum & Art Swindon
- Wyvern Theatre
- The Coombes, Hinton Parva
- Stanton Country Park
- Avebury
- National Collections Centre
- Roves Farm
The list keeps growing!
Getting to and around Swindon
Swindon is really well connected with a mainline train station. You can be in London Paddington, Bath or Bristol in under an hour. Trainline is my go-to app for checking times and ticket prices.
Flixbus offer coaches to Swindon. In the town itself, Swindon Bus Company and Stagecoach run buses. Check timetables and plan journeys using Traveline.
There’s a range of independent taxi companies in Swindon as well as Uber.
Where to stay in Swindon
If you want somewhere in the town centre, Leonardo Hotel gets great reviews. It’s a handy choice if you are using public transport as it is five minute’s walk from the train and bus stations. It also has family rooms.
Budget alternatives in the town centre include Holiday Inn Express and the ibis Budget Swindon.
Looking for something out of town? Blunsdon House Hotel is just four miles from the town centre but has a countryside feel. There’s family rooms and guests always comment on the friendly staff.
Need to know: FAQs about Swindon
Let me be completely honest, Swindon is not a tourist destination. But it does sit in an advantageous location between the Cotswolds and the North Wessex Downs with plenty of rolling countryside and attractions within easy reach by car. There’s also some unique places to visit in the town centre and discount shopping at the Designer Outlet.
What is Swindon most famous for?
There’s been a settlement here since the Roman times, but Swindon owes its notoriety to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s 19th Century Great Western Railway project. What had been a small market town, rapidly grew with the opening of the GWR Works which was the railway’s primary manufacture, repair, and servicing centre, employing 14,000 people at its peak.
More UK days out and destination guides
We’ve gotten around a lot over the years and have a big guide to our recommended UK family attractions. I’ve also got a dog-friendly guide to days out if you’re looking for places that welcome the whole family.
Here’s some more of our guide to things to do in England with kids:
- Things to do in Winchester
- Birmingham family days out
- Places to visit in Bath with kids
- A guide to holidays in Cornwall with kids
- Things to do in Dorset with kids
- Devon with Kids – my other UK website
- What to do on a day out in the Isle of Wight
- Things to do in Manchester with kids
- Places to visit in Newquay with kids
- Things to do in Northumberland with kids
- Days out in Portsmouth for families
- Things to do in Southampton with kids
- Days out in Sussex with kids
Want more ideas for family holidays and days out? Read my tips for smashing family travel and sign up for my newsletter.
