Swindon Travel Guide, United Kingdom

Swindon, UK - Overview: Largest Industrial and Commercial center in UK

The town of Swindon is located in Wiltshire near the river Ray. It is the largest centre of industry and commerce in United Kingdom. The town had developed a lot since the Great Western Railway works was established there in the 19th century. It has witnessed a great deal of development in the recent years and has a lot of shopping, entertainment and leisure activities that make it a popular town. There are a lot of places in Swindon that are of historical importance, and known to attract a large number of tourists each year.

Swindon is referred to as ‘Suindune’ in the famed Domesday Book. It is believed that the name may have been derived from the words ‘swine’ and ‘dune’, which means pig hill. There are also beliefs that the name could have resulted from ‘Sweyn’s hill’, where Sweyn, could have been the name of the local landlord.

Apart from being largely dependent on Swindon Railway Works for its economy, Swindon also had firms that used to handle quarrying, engineering, building and clothing. Presently, the major companies that operate in the town include Honda, Motorola, BMW, Ubinetics and Intel. The famous pharmaceutical companies Cardinal Health and Patheon are also based in Swindon. The town also houses the headquarters and distribution centre of W. H. Smith. It also boasts the presence of financial and insurance companies like Zurich Financial Services and Nationwide Building Society.

Swindon has innumerable popular tourist spots that help the town in attracting tourists from all over the world. Some of the well known attractions of the town include Barbury Castle Country Park, Cricklade Museum, Great Western Maze, Kelmscott Manor, Lydiard House, Stanton Park, STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon Museum & Art Gallery and Waylands Smithy.

People, who plan to spend a holiday in Swindon, can have a great time visiting the different tourist attractions in the town. They can put up at excellent hotels that are there in the town. These hotels are known for providing quality service to the tourists staying there.

Over the years, Swindon has fast emerged from being a small agricultural centre to the prosperous industrial town of today. The town is surely one of the many famous towns in the United Kingdom that has a rich history behind it. With more people coming to know about the different tourist attractions in Swindon, there has been a steady rise in the number of visitors to the town recently.