TROWBRIDGE is Wiltshire's county town and boasts many of the benefits of our larger cities, including stately  Georgian architecture and a broad range of retailers, pubs and restaurants, but offers a more relaxing experience, away from those big city crowds. It also has some of the loveliest and most peaceful green spaces of any town along our line. Just one suggestion for exploring Trowbridge from the station is given below, but the friendly Trowbridge Information Centre will happily send you free town trails and a map before your visit - just call 01225 710535.

Trowbridge's graceful elegance is a direct result of its cloth weaving heritage, with many of its most impressive buildings having been built by or for wealthy clothiers. The Towbridge Museum, in an old weaving mill, brings this industrial legacy vividly to life, and admission is (amazingly!) free. The museum nestles in the heart of The Shires, an excellent indoor shopping complex, just a stone's throw from the station, so this can be a great way to begin your visit (from the station car park exit, cross the main road and turn right to enter via the Shires car park). Don't blow your shopping budget all at once though, as the far exit from The Shires brings you right into the town centre, (opposite Fore Street) and there are still plenty more treats in store! After entering Fore Street with its range of top retailers, it is worth taking a diversion up towards the Parish Church of St James. Exploring the quaint row of shops in Church Walk might tempt you to fish and chips from The Codfather, perhaps with a rest in the broad, serene grounds of this lovely church. At the end of this little alleyway, you reach Church Street, with some of the oldest buildings in the town.

Turn right and continue down Church Street, and turn right again onto Silver Street with its traditional independent shops. If you have a happy holiday memory of a real Cornish pasty, a visit to Perfect Pasties will bring it right back! Silver Street leads into Market Street in front of the splendid Town Hall. Carrying straight on will take you to Knees of Trowbridge, an excellent, traditional department store of which the locals say "if you can't find it there, you don't really need it"! and then back to The Shires.

However, do try and find time to divert left, just before the Town Hall, down to the town's splendid park - if only to take a look at the beautiful architectural asymmetry of the back of the Town Hall (a gift to the community from one of those wealthy clothiers). If you visit on a Tuesday or a Friday, you can go into the enchanting Victorian Sensory Garden - created and nurtured by local volunteers. The park is a haven of peace on a sunny day and you'll find the Trowbridge Information Centre here, with a wide range of free and priced literature about the town and beyond - situated just behind a rather magnificent playground - a perfect pit stop if you're exploring with any restless kids!
www.trowbridge.gov.uk