WHILE a long weekend break often has us jumping in our cars and driving miles to visit historical sites and other attractions, we sometimes miss things right on our own doorstep.
Did you know Wootton Bassett has mud springs?
Nope, nor me, but a look on the town council's website reveals that the springs are unique in Britain.
There's a wealth of information on the site. So why not discover somewhere closer to home this Easter?
Here are some of the attractions highlighted on the site:
- Town Hall
Wootton Bassett's best known landmark - located in the High Street - was built at the end of the 17th century and owes its existence to the political ambitions of the Hyde family (the Earls of Clarendon) who presented the building to the town, and also had the market charter renewed.
The upper floor of the hall was a council chamber built on 15 pillars, while below there is a store room for market goods and also a Blind House or lock-up, in which drunks were detained overnight.
The building was extensively restored in 1889 when the Blind House disappeared. It now houses a museum of town life which currently opens on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
- Jubilee Lake
This is found a short distance out of town on the Malmesbury Road. A wooded trail leads off a small car park and takes you through a steeply-wooded area to the lake, a popular spot for walkers, dog owners and anglers.
The lake was formed at about the time of the First World War when the Thunder Brook was dammed.
The area is rich in bird life and contains wetland habitats, ancient woodlands and grass areas.
- Wilts & Berks Canal
The canal was officially opened on September 14, 1810, linking the Kennet & Avon Canal at Semington to the River Thames at Abingdon.
Nine years later a branch was constructed joining Swindon to Latton on the Thames & Severn Canal. By 1900 boat movements had almost totally ceased and in 1914 the canal was officially abandoned.
In 1977 a group was formed called the Wilts and Berks Canal Amenity Group (W&BCAG) whose aim is to totally restore the canal using as much of the original route as possible. In recent years, to publicise the restoration and as a mark of the progress made, boat rallies have been held in a rewatered section at Templars Firs.
- St Bartholmew and All Saints Church
15th century except for a 14th century window with modern glass. On Monday nights the sound of the bells ring out in Wootton Bassett High Street, the earliest bells date back to the four that were cast in 1633, it was only much later, between 1969 and 1871, that the church tower was built.
- Mud springs
These have gone largely unnoticed since Victorian times. Recent interest, and their subsequent designation by English Nature as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, came about during planning for a potential bypass for the town. They well up through limestone, Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian clays, bringing up with them extremely fine mud particles which, for some reason, stay in suspension up to the surface.
This mud forms oozing mounds with all the consistency of quick sand.
In amongst the grey slime are exceptionally well preserved fossils of species which swam around when Wootton Bassett was covered by a tropical sea some 150 million years ago.
The site can be found adjacent to the Town's canal site at Templars Firs. Visitors are asked to exercise extreme caution due to the depth and potential dangers of the mud.
- Architecture Wootton Bassett has retained much of its architectural heritage. There are notable Georgian buildings which line the broad High Street.
Away from the High Street, there are other fine buildings which retain a link with the past. They include the Civic Centre, in Station Road, which began life as the National School, a solidly-buit affair, constructed by Isaac Lansdown, a local builder.
It opened, together with an adjoining schoolmaster's house, in 1861.
Nowadays the building houses the Mayor's Parlour and council chamber and function rooms available for hire.
- Find out more about Wootton Bassett at www.woottonbassett.gov.uk
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