A new circular green trail taking in some of the town's most famous sights has been unveiled by South Swindon Parish Council. 

It was officially opened at a ceremony which saw Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery chair Linda Kasmaty and South Swindon Parish Council chair Chris Watts doing the honours next to one of its information boards.

People going for a walk in Swindon can now enjoy a route that takes in Coate Water, Shaftesbury Lake, Croft Wood, East Wichel, Rushy Platt, Cambria Bridge, the town centre, Fleming Way, the Magic Roundabout and Marlowe Avenue. 

"We've been working at the parish for quite a long time planning a route," Linda said. "In the last six months we've had the circular bit [at Shaftesbury Lake] joined on, so it's now fantastic you can walk round the edge of the parish, the bits of South Swindon parish you never knew about.

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Chris added: "This whole idea started in 2019. There's a thing called the butterfly theory where if a butterfly flaps its wings in a different way in the Amazon that eventually changes things around the world. 

"For me, this was going for a run in [Coate Water] in 2019 and losing my shoe and really struggling to get it back out. When I got home I was quite angry but then I started thinking 'why can't we do something with this route' - we're a parish council, we're in place now.

"But then I thought 'why stop there - we've go the railway track, the canal, we could start joining all this u'."

Now, almost three years later, the trail is finished officially ready to be walked. 

Dozens of people attended the event at Shaftesbury Lake on Saturday morning to watch the trail launch, and then everyone was treated to a free lunch at the Richard Jefferies Museum. 

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The trail explores historical transport links, local history and and the natural world of South Swindon, and has been designed to be enjoyed as a complete circuit, or in sections with alternative routes suggested from each. 

Brand new information boards for the trail have been installed at Cambria Bridge Road and Shaftesbury Lake and people can download and print out a map with abridged notes about the trail's six sections. 

For more information on the trail visit the parish council's dedicated section for it on its website - southswindon-pc.gov.uk/south-swindon-green-trail/