Swindon miniquest

Scenario

The story of Swindon is really a Tale of Two Towns. Old Swindon on its hill retains much of the character of the little market town it was. New Town is a product of the Industrial Revolution - a canal junction in the eighteenth century and in the nineteenth the Victorian equivalent of the Kennedy Space Centre: the largest dedicated industrial complex in the world servicing the Great Western Railway.

Swindon's lively history was conditioned by geography and geology. Swindon is between London and Bristol and also between the south coast and the midlands. Today Swindon is a town full of shops and with a rich and nice night life.

Task

One of the first landmarks that visitors to Swindon see when they arrive via the motorway from the west is a traditional windmill which is the beautiful centrepiece of the Windmill Hill Business Park

Question 1: the windmill

1.1. When were the mills first established in Britain? 1.2. When was the mill from Swindon built?

The coming of the railways made a huge impact on the life of Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century, but nowhere did it have an impact as great as it did on the town of Swindon.

Question 2: the railway

	2.1. Explain the importance of the railway for Swindon’s birth and expansion.

If you visit England you might struggle with driving on the left side of the road but it get worse when you arrive to Swindon. Then you have to face with a mazze of little roundabouts all in one.

Useful information in

http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm

3.1. What was the original magic roundabout?

3.2. How many magic roundabout are there in all the UK?

Question 3: the magic roundabout

Product

Write a short essay about Swindon and send it to your teacher by email (daysleeper_gi@yahoo.com)

You should include the following points:

- Situation of Swindon in the UK

- Origins of the town (the railway)

- Main attractions or curiosities (the windmill, the magic roundabout, the shops, the pubs,…)