A Morning in Old Town, Swindon

Earlier this week I spent a morning in the town where I was born: Swindon! 

It's fair to say that as a town, Swindon doesn't have the best of reputations, and people often make jokes about it being a dump. The central shopping area is pretty much dead, some neighbourhoods have high crime rates, and it contains an array of terrifying roundabouts, including the infamous Magic Roundabout.

However, it's not all bad! The Old Town area is actually quite an interesting place to explore, and it's where you can find the Swindon Museum, as well as an array of independent shops and cafés.

On Monday morning, my mum wanted to look at some shops there, so I took the opportunity to go for a walk in the Town Gardens, which I think is the nicest place in the whole of Swindon. It features an old bandstand, an aviary for budgies and cockatiels, and lots of cute squirrels!

While in town, I passed the Swindon Arts Centre, a theatre and cultural venue. This was where I did my Year 10 Work Experience all the way back in 2011, and I have great memories of the week I spent there.

Afterwards, we met up at the Core Juicery, a café with plenty of vegan options, including one of my favourite foods, avocado on toast!

Other great places to eat in Old Town include the Moshan Island Grill Caribbean restaurant, Fabio's Italian restaurant, and Los Gatos tapas bar.

Overall, Swindon isn't exactly well-known as a travel destination, but like every other town, it has its good parts as well as its not-so-good parts. It's also an ideal base for exploring the UK, as it's right in between London and Cardiff, and is close to popular tourist destinations like the Cotswolds, Oxford and Bath. 

I've got no more trips planned for the time being, as my boyfriend will be arriving here in a few days and we'll have to start our quarantine! But I plan to work on this blog during that time, and of course start planning our travel adventures for when we're allowed out again!