I'M going to risk it and say that with our second flurry of snow, winter has now been and gone and we are now firmly in spring. A time devoted new beginnings.

And nothing celebrates this quite like the reopening of a favourite farm shop, after what seems like the longest refurb in the history of longest refurbs.

I am of course talking about The Wood Street Food Hall.

But while they may have kept us guessing for weeks (surely it has to be months?) as to what was going on behind those shop shutters, that has only made Old Town hungrier.

The food hall originated as a collaboration between former chefs Simon Rhodes and Marcus Cole who wanted to establish a modern day farmshop in the heart of urban Swindon focusing on fresh, sustainable food. They quickly achieved their aim and helped put Wood Street on the map as the home of independent traders in this world of ever-increasing clone towns.

But enough of that, the burning question on everyone's lips is whether the dark winter months without the hall has been worth it for an improved cheese counter.

I am happy to report that it most certainly is.

Opposite the new corner deli that greets you as you wander in is a cheese cabinet with some of the great tastes of the West clamouring for your attention.

Up top they have a colourful array of Snowdonia Cheese Company's cheddars, lined up like an expensive wine cabinet.

You will also find some of the real stars of the local cheese world, including Brinkworth Dairy's two delightful blues - Brinkworth and Royal Bassett - and the traditional Wiltshire cheese that fed an army of farmworkers long before Cheddar arrived in these parts - the Wiltshire Loaf.

The revival of this cheese by fifth generation dairy farmer Ceri Cryer, using her great grandfather's recipe, has made the dairy a genuine success story.

From slightly further afield, the food hall is also stocking Lyburn's delicious Winchester Mature, which comes from just outside Salisbury. Not quite cheddar, not quite Gouda, it's somewhere in between. Matured for around nine months, it remains creamy while also retaining that delightfully nutty taste.

But a good cheese line-up would be nothing without a credible soft cheese to go gooey on the board while you make your way through a bottle of something red, and the food hall has selected a Camembert that itself was only launched this spring to mark its return to Wood Street. I must admit, I am cautious about taking the Cricket St Thomas Camembert home to my family, as I was teased mercilessly as a child for not being able to pronounce the valley this cheese takes its name from correctly, forever mixing my St Thomas up with my Cricket.

At least these days I can put that down to the wine, which reminds me - a visit to Magnum next door is in order!