United Kingdom

Discover the United Kingdom: A Tapestry of History, Royalty, and Natural Wonders

Embark on a journey to the United Kingdom, an archipelago where history and modernity intertwine in a rich tapestry that spans thousands of years. Located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe, the UK is composed of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, each with its own unique heritage and allure. From the Neolithic Orkney to the Roman baths of Bath, the Norman conquest to the industrial revolution, the UK's legacy is as diverse as its landscapes.

Chronicles of the Isles: A Storied Past

The United Kingdom's narrative is marked by legendary monarchs, literary greats, and epoch-defining events. Its sovereignty has influenced global history, language, and culture, with a monarchy that continues to capture the world's imagination.

London: The Crown Jewel

In the heart of the UK, London stands as a global metropolis, boasting landmarks such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and the Houses of Parliament, alongside the modernity of the Shard and the cultural haven of the West End.

Edinburgh: A Capital of Culture

Travel north to Scotland's Edinburgh, where the iconic Edinburgh Castle looms over a city renowned for its festivals, arts, and the historic Royal Mile.

The Lake District: Nature's Masterpiece

England's Lake District offers tranquil beauty, with its idyllic lakes, mountainous landscapes, and literary associations with Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.

The Giant's Causeway: Geological Splendor

In Northern Ireland, the Giant's Causeway showcases an awe-inspiring coastal landscape of basalt columns, born from volcanic fury and Irish legend.

From the rugged coasts of Cornwall to the sweeping valleys of Wales, and the picturesque glens of the Scottish Highlands, the United Kingdom invites exploration of its castles, cathedrals, and quaint villages. As you traverse through travel.frogsfolly.com, let us guide you through the UK's living history, its vibrant cultures, and its awe-inspiring natural beauty. Join us to discover the United Kingdom—a land where every stone tells a story and every landscape inspires a dream.

United Kingdom
Recent Uploads tagged unitedkingdom

			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/padraiccollins/">padraic collins</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/padraiccollins/55607656305/" title="Street Art - 22742"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607656305_3a53ab0529_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Street Art - 22742" /></a></p>

<p>@f.f.w.i.h / @boasters_yard<br />
<br />
Nottingham</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/padraiccollins/">padraic collins</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/padraiccollins/55607456649/" title="Street Art - 22744"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607456649_cef0572b6a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Street Art - 22744" /></a></p>

<p>@f.f.w.i.h / @boasters_yard<br />
<br />
Nottingham</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55606165687/" title="Wheel Sets - Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55606165687_9a914cc579_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Wheel Sets - Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Wheel Sets<br />
<br />
Swindon Works manufactured many varieties of wheel sets and two types are displayed here.<br />
<br />
The larger are examples of drive wheels, probably for either a pannier tank locomotive or a diesel shunter. The Smaller ones are wagon wheels manufactured in the carriage and wagon works.<br />
<br />
The largest diameter drive wheel manufactured at Swindon Works were for the GWR King Class locomotives, which were 6 foot 6 inches (2 meters) in diameter.<br />
<br />
Wheel sets compromised of a profiled steel tyre on a cast spoked centre, which was pressed onto an axle with journals for the bearing and pins for mounting the connecting rods. Counter weights would be cast or fitted to counteract the out and off balance caused by the eccentric lobes for the connecting rod pins.<br />
<br />
Not all wheel centres were manufactured as castings. The smaller wheel sets here, manufactured around 1900, show an example of a wheel centre with a forged hub and welded spokes made from steel plate.<br />
<br />
The tyres would be heated in a pit with gas jets and wheel centres mounted on the axle would be lowered into the expanded tyre and allowed to shrink as it cooled. The whole assembly would then be mounted in a wheel lathe and the tyre profile machined.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55607312453/" title="Pattern Church, Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607312453_2174a65e9e_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Pattern Church, Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Pattern Church<br />
<br />
Grade II listed building<br />
<br />
<a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1355885" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Pattern Store and Water Tank</a><br />
<br />
Details<br />
SWINDON<br />
<br />
SU 1484 NW RODBOURNE ROAD (W) 5/176 BREL:SWINDON WORKS<br />
<br />
29-MAR-1990 PATTERN STORE AND WATER TANK<br />
<br />
GV II<br />
<br />
A pattern store, dating from 1897, designed and constructed by the Great Western Railway for the Swindon Railway Works. The building is surmounted by a four-section water tank which covers the entire roof of the building.<br />
<br />
MATERIALS: The building is constructed from red brick and blue engineering brick, and cast iron for the water tank.<br />
<br />
PLAN: The pattern store is a simple rectangle on plan, oriented north west-south east with an enclosed corner stairwell rising to the second floor.<br />
<br />
EXTERIOR: It has three storeys and a basement, and is a seven-bay range, three bays deep, set on a plinth which steps forward slightly, with a string course between the ground and first floors. In the long elevations, the bay structure is articulated by wide pilasters of blue engineering brick, between which are segmental headed window openings with moulded brick arches set in red brick panels. The windows are a mixture of original, multi-paned metal windows and later, timber-framed casements. The returns have similar blue brick pilasters, between which are red brick sections, the central bay housing pairs of round-arched, metal double doors to the ground, first and second floors. The south western, entrance front has a C20 glazed central entrance doorway. The basement has a lean-to conservatory to the central five bays. The rear of the building, facing Rodbourne Road, is set on lower ground than the front of the building, and so consists of five full storeys and a high plinth. It is similar to the main elevation, but has a small entrance door in the basement of the sixth bay. The whole building is surmounted by the cast iron water tank, which has external riveted seams and a continuous handrail. The tank is covered in part with modern shallow-pitched roofs, and in part with a flat roof covered in mineral felt.<br />
<br />
INTERIOR: The interior of the building is of fireproof construction, based on rows of jack arches formed from brick with transverse beams, carried on piers made from made from riveted steel plate, some of which are incised GWR. In the north west corner is an enclosed stair which rises from floor to floor, from the ground floor to the second floor. It is accessed from each floor by round-arched doorways housing solid metal doors, to maintain fire separation. The stair has a plain timber handrail; its steel treads are covered in small timber blocks. The basement has a brick floor, now covered; those to the remaining storeys are pine block. The ground floor and basement have been converted to house a restaurant, using lightweight cladding and partitions, behind which much of the original structure survives. The first and second floors have not been converted. A timber trapdoor is set into the floor of each of the upper storeys, rising up through the centre of the building. The taking-in doors on each floor run on quadrant metal tracks let in to the wooden floors. The second floor is slightly less high than the lower floors, and its ceiling is the base of the massive water tank which forms the roof of the building. At the south west corner a section is bricked off to create a small office, which houses a brick chimney breast with a plain, segmental arched opening. A similar fireplace is situated in the opposite end of the building on the second floor. This floor houses a massive pipe which brought the water from the roof into the building, together with some ancillary piping. At the south east end of the second floor is a cast iron spiral staircase which rises up through the tank to the roof, terminating inside a metal turret with a conical roof.<br />
<br />
HISTORY: The Swindon Railway Works were begun in 1841 as a repair depot for locomotives on the Great Western Railway. The site had been chosen as a convenient point on the London-Bristol line, as Swindon was the point at which the Cheltenham branch of the GWR joined the main line. The works rapidly expanded into a factory for the building of locomotives and wagons, and by 1851, was employing 2,000 men. In 1868, a further period of expansion began, as a new carriage works was constructed on the site. A vast new locomotive and tender building was constructed in 1873 to the west of the works, reaching to the eastern side of Rodbourne Road. It was agreed by the GWR directors on 22 July 1896 that a new pattern store would be built, at a cost of £4,000, as the old pattern stores were overflowing, and many patterns were being stored outdoors under sheeting. The new store was to be constructed by GWR workers using materials from its own stores, under the supervision of William Dean, Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent for the works, and the order was placed the following month. The pattern store was the first permanent building to be erected on the area of land to the west of Rodbourne Road; the site had been acquired by GWR in 1884, and had hitherto been used as a store for redundant broad-gauge locomotives. This area was heavily developed by the firm in the period to 1920, with massive workshops built to the west of the pattern store. The location of the store was convenient, as the foundry was situated just across Rodbourne Road, reached by a covered footbridge (now demolished), which allowed easy movement of patterns to and from the store. Patterns were made in 'H' shop, to the north of the foundry, keeping the related functions close to each other. The pattern store was later also used as a pattern makers' shop, and remained in use until the works closed in 1986. Following the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, the works became part of British Rail Engineering; after 1960, with the move to diesel, the works began to contract, moving almost entirely into the former locomotive works. By 1984, large parts of the site were becoming redundant, and it closed in 1986. Large elements of the works have been demolished, and those buildings retained have been converted to mixed office and retail use, with one former shop housing the Museum of the Great Western Railway. The pattern store is currently (2008) home to an Italian restaurant.<br />
<br />
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The Pattern Store is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * A rare survival of a purpose-built pattern store, constructed by and for the Great Western Railway works in 1897 * Its massive cast iron water tank, which surmounts the entire area of the building, remains in situ * The building has survived without later extension or major alterations, and retains its original layout and fireproof stairwell * Group value with the adjacent Grade II listed engine turntable (qv), and the other listed buildings of the former GWR works to the east of Rodbourne Road<br />
<br />
Listing NGR: SU1411284705</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55607593330/" title="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607593330_996a9f8350_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
View from the car on leaving the car park.<br />
<br />
<br />
Grade II listed building<br />
<br />
<a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1241674" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Number 9 Shop</a><br />
<br />
Details<br />
The following building shall be added: SWINDON RODBOURNE ROAD SU 1484 NW BREL: Swindon Works 5/177 No 9 Shop (former J Shop) GV II A very long range with a masonry built facade of an arcaded ground floor of red brick headed arches and ashlar dressed jambs and windows with paired windows above. The rear elevation is brick built with brick dressed windows. The western two thirds were built in 1873 as a foundry and was extended eastwards with similar detailing first c1890 and again in 1922. The range presents a 32 bay facade to the main line railway with a twin gabled six bay return to the east end and a corrugated sheet return to the west end. The rear elevation is partly obscured by modern additions of 1965. The first 20 bays from the west represent the original build and reputedly the alternate ground floor bays were blind pierced by windows c 1924, the remaining 12 bays are late 19th and early 20th century. The west elevation was rebuilt in 1965. The effort taken with the facade to match the extensions with the original builds indicated that this was always.regarded as a prestige building in relation to the main line railway consists of two tall single storey aisles separated in the original part by a rank of two tier cast-iron columns and in the later sections by rivetted steel composite columns at a much greater bay interval. The building was visited by King George V and Queen Mary in 1924 when a welcome message was cast in their presence. This survives on site.<br />
<br />
Source: A Peck The Great Western at Swindon Works (OPC 1983)<br />
<br />
Listing NGR: SU1421084769</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55607593715/" title="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607593715_5a5fb5e978_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Grade II* listed building<br />
<br />
<a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1199356" rel="noreferrer nofollow">British Rail Engineering Limited: Swindon Works, No 12 Shop (V Shop) , O and E Shop (32, 33 and 35 Shops)</a><br />
<br />
Details<br />
In the entries for:-<br />
<br />
SWINDON<br />
SU 1484 NW RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/147 No 12 Shop (V. Shop)<br />
18.5.84<br />
GV II*<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
and:-<br />
SU 1484 NW SWINDON RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/151 O and E Shop.<br />
(32, 33 and 35<br />
18.5.54 Shops)<br />
GV II<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
the entries shall be combined into one entry (at Grade II*) and<br />
amended to read as follows:-<br />
<br />
SU 1484 NW SWINDON RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/147 No 12 shop (V shop) and O and E shop<br />
(32, 3 3 and 35 shops )<br />
18.5.54<br />
GV II*<br />
<br />
Locomotive building works. 1874, extended c1879, c1885 and 1924.<br />
Iron-framed with red brick exterior walls with limestone ashlar and<br />
yellow brick dressings; multi-gabled Welsh slate roofs with glazed<br />
clerestories and glazed timber-framed gable ends.<br />
PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT: T-shaped plan has 50-bay east facade and extends<br />
30 bays to Rodbourne Road on west side; the front (east) block was 8<br />
bays deep to the south of the 'T' and 6 bays to the north while the<br />
broad stem of the 'T' was a single working space 24 bays long and 18<br />
bays wide below 6 roofing ranges. The front range contained brass<br />
foundry and turning shops at the southern end, machine shops for<br />
cylinders and frames flanking a wide entrance bay and the hydraulic<br />
power centre with an accumulator tower at the extreme northern end. The<br />
stem of the 'T' was the locomotive erecting shop and boiler shop.<br />
The stem as broadened to the north by 8 bays (structurally 3,3 and 2)<br />
c1879 and to the south by 6 bays c1885 and by 3 bays c1924.<br />
EXTERIOR: One storey. The west facade facing Rodbourne Road is a long<br />
brick frontage with arched openings. East facade articulated by yellow<br />
brick semi-circular arches with limestone keys and impost mouldings;<br />
segmental-arched windows, set within inner arches, over C20 windows and<br />
late C19 horned 10/10-pane sashes; moulded cornice. Similar 8-bay south<br />
end wall; north end wall rebuilt C20. Plain south-facing facade of 1924<br />
extension has segmental-arched sashes and cast-iron casements with<br />
opening lights.<br />
INTERIOR: No 12 Shop has cast-iron columns in two tiers, the lower<br />
heavier ones carrying crane gantry beams and brackets for line shafting;<br />
columns support a wrought iron and glazed roof structure; there is a<br />
surviving 20-ton crane, now electrified, with chain hoist, made up of an<br />
inverted iron structure. Rest of 1874 structure has 2 rows of cast-iron<br />
columns supporting wrought-iron roof construction. 19 tall columns in<br />
each row, with large brackets to support travelling gantry cranes and.<br />
have pierced cast-iron girders spanning between the columns for fixing<br />
machinery, tools etc.<br />
This building formed the centrepiece of the large-scale expansion of the<br />
GWR works in the 1870's and an extremely impressive industrial structure<br />
of the period. One of an important group of Victorian industrial<br />
buildings of the GWR works. Hooters on north-east side are claimed to<br />
have been those of the SS Great Britain.<br />
Formerly listed as items 147 and 151-.<br />
<br />
<br />
Listing NGR: SU1409284876</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55606165782/" title="Wheel Sets - Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55606165782_ef61cdce0d_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Wheel Sets - Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Wheel Sets<br />
<br />
Swindon Works manufactured many varieties of wheel sets and two types are displayed here.<br />
<br />
The larger are examples of drive wheels, probably for either a pannier tank locomotive or a diesel shunter. The Smaller ones are wagon wheels manufactured in the carriage and wagon works.<br />
<br />
The largest diameter drive wheel manufactured at Swindon Works were for the GWR King Class locomotives, which were 6 foot 6 inches (2 meters) in diameter.<br />
<br />
Wheel sets compromised of a profiled steel tyre on a cast spoked centre, which was pressed onto an axle with journals for the bearing and pins for mounting the connecting rods. Counter weights would be cast or fitted to counteract the out and off balance caused by the eccentric lobes for the connecting rod pins.<br />
<br />
Not all wheel centres were manufactured as castings. The smaller wheel sets here, manufactured around 1900, show an example of a wheel centre with a forged hub and welded spokes made from steel plate.<br />
<br />
The tyres would be heated in a pit with gas jets and wheel centres mounted on the axle would be lowered into the expanded tyre and allowed to shrink as it cooled. The whole assembly would then be mounted in a wheel lathe and the tyre profile machined.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/ell-r-brown/">ell brown</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/55607593760/" title="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607593760_ee74c2fdb5_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon" /></a></p>

<p>We passed through and around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon_Designer_Outlet" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon</a> on the way to and from STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway. Was a lot of railway heritage inside the shopping centre.<br />
<br />
<br />
Swindon Designer Outlet (currently trading as Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon) is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England, owned by Frasers Group.<br />
<br />
The outlet occupies most of the remainder of the Great Western railway works. Converted by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few miles from junction 16 of the M4 motorway.<br />
<br />
In December 2025, LaSalle Investment Management sold the outlet to Frasers Group.It was also previously owned by Nuveen Real Estate from 2008 to 2022.<br />
<br />
McArthurGlen Group operated the outlet from opening to January 31, 2026, when the centre's operations were handed to Frasers Group and rebranded under the Frasers Plus brand, the centre is since managed and operated by Savills.<br />
<br />
The centre attracts more than 3 million customers annually, putting it in the top 5 outlets in the UK.<br />
<br />
<br />
Grade II* listed building<br />
<br />
<a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1199356" rel="noreferrer nofollow">British Rail Engineering Limited: Swindon Works, No 12 Shop (V Shop) , O and E Shop (32, 33 and 35 Shops)</a><br />
<br />
Details<br />
In the entries for:-<br />
<br />
SWINDON<br />
SU 1484 NW RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/147 No 12 Shop (V. Shop)<br />
18.5.84<br />
GV II*<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
and:-<br />
SU 1484 NW SWINDON RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/151 O and E Shop.<br />
(32, 33 and 35<br />
18.5.54 Shops)<br />
GV II<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
the entries shall be combined into one entry (at Grade II*) and<br />
amended to read as follows:-<br />
<br />
SU 1484 NW SWINDON RODBOURNE ROAD<br />
BREL: Swindon Works<br />
5/147 No 12 shop (V shop) and O and E shop<br />
(32, 3 3 and 35 shops )<br />
18.5.54<br />
GV II*<br />
<br />
Locomotive building works. 1874, extended c1879, c1885 and 1924.<br />
Iron-framed with red brick exterior walls with limestone ashlar and<br />
yellow brick dressings; multi-gabled Welsh slate roofs with glazed<br />
clerestories and glazed timber-framed gable ends.<br />
PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT: T-shaped plan has 50-bay east facade and extends<br />
30 bays to Rodbourne Road on west side; the front (east) block was 8<br />
bays deep to the south of the 'T' and 6 bays to the north while the<br />
broad stem of the 'T' was a single working space 24 bays long and 18<br />
bays wide below 6 roofing ranges. The front range contained brass<br />
foundry and turning shops at the southern end, machine shops for<br />
cylinders and frames flanking a wide entrance bay and the hydraulic<br />
power centre with an accumulator tower at the extreme northern end. The<br />
stem of the 'T' was the locomotive erecting shop and boiler shop.<br />
The stem as broadened to the north by 8 bays (structurally 3,3 and 2)<br />
c1879 and to the south by 6 bays c1885 and by 3 bays c1924.<br />
EXTERIOR: One storey. The west facade facing Rodbourne Road is a long<br />
brick frontage with arched openings. East facade articulated by yellow<br />
brick semi-circular arches with limestone keys and impost mouldings;<br />
segmental-arched windows, set within inner arches, over C20 windows and<br />
late C19 horned 10/10-pane sashes; moulded cornice. Similar 8-bay south<br />
end wall; north end wall rebuilt C20. Plain south-facing facade of 1924<br />
extension has segmental-arched sashes and cast-iron casements with<br />
opening lights.<br />
INTERIOR: No 12 Shop has cast-iron columns in two tiers, the lower<br />
heavier ones carrying crane gantry beams and brackets for line shafting;<br />
columns support a wrought iron and glazed roof structure; there is a<br />
surviving 20-ton crane, now electrified, with chain hoist, made up of an<br />
inverted iron structure. Rest of 1874 structure has 2 rows of cast-iron<br />
columns supporting wrought-iron roof construction. 19 tall columns in<br />
each row, with large brackets to support travelling gantry cranes and.<br />
have pierced cast-iron girders spanning between the columns for fixing<br />
machinery, tools etc.<br />
This building formed the centrepiece of the large-scale expansion of the<br />
GWR works in the 1870's and an extremely impressive industrial structure<br />
of the period. One of an important group of Victorian industrial<br />
buildings of the GWR works. Hooters on north-east side are claimed to<br />
have been those of the SS Great Britain.<br />
Formerly listed as items 147 and 151-.<br />
<br />
<br />
Listing NGR: SU1409284876</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/number10gov/">UK Prime Minister</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/55607181536/" title="Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Ezra &amp; Gil Cafe"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607181536_48b29daf8c_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Ezra &amp; Gil Cafe" /></a></p>

<p>23/10/2026. Manchester, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Andy Burnham meets staff as he visits Ezra &amp; Gil Cafe. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/kaszeta/">kaszeta</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaszeta/55607170266/" title="Power over Others is Weakness Disguised as Strength"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607170266_9a4f924f02_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Power over Others is Weakness Disguised as Strength" /></a></p>

<p>Viewed from the Man on Horseback angle.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/kaszeta/">kaszeta</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaszeta/55607141056/" title="The Former Onion Garden"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607141056_46450ec545_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="The Former Onion Garden" /></a></p>

<p>The Onion Garden was a reclaimed garden space created on the concrete cap of the Circle Line in Westminster, built between 2021 and 2026.<br />
<br />
It was a nice, free public space, but the organizers of the Garden got evicted in a dispute over a handshake lease, and now the space is Suzette Cafe, although much of the garden space remains.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607345659/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Great Organ"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607345659_5fb3b9469e_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Great Organ" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607143571/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Limoges Plaques"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607143571_d8590061c0_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Limoges Plaques" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607263583/" title="Norwich - Cathedral North Transept Altar &amp; Pulpit"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607263583_40040e5b63_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral North Transept Altar &amp; Pulpit" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607543905/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Precinct Red Brick Housing"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607543905_4528538105_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Precinct Red Brick Housing" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/number10gov/">UK Prime Minister</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/55607354219/" title="Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosts Wildfire Summit"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607354219_8a58f72854_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosts Wildfire Summit" /></a></p>

<p>23/10/2026. Aintree, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government attend Wildfire Summit at the National Resilience Centre of Excellence. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607333924/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Choir Stalls &amp; Organ"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607333924_1c13696b1b_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Choir Stalls &amp; Organ" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55606108272/" title="Norwich - Autumn La Tasca 2"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55606108272_3cbbdc30f6_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Autumn La Tasca 2" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607132476/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Bishops of Elmham Wall Plaque West End"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607132476_4a85e59b89_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Bishops of Elmham Wall Plaque West End" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/31068574@N05/">Le Monde1</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068574@N05/55607253303/" title="Norwich - Cathedral Battle of Britain Lace Information Notice"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55607253303_c1d01e01b0_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="Norwich - Cathedral Battle of Britain Lace Information Notice" /></a></p>
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