Swindon Town

Swindon Town were founded in 1879, moved into their current home in 1896, and since then they have tasted the big time twice: once went famously well, the other famously not well.

They were founder members of the Southern League when they went pro in 1894, so they are a proper big club in the world of smaller clubs, if that makes sense. They made the Football League in 1920 and stayed in the third tier for 40 years before popping into the second in the early 1960s.

At the end of that decade, they had their biggest moment, winning the League Cup over Arsenal, 3-1. It’s one of the biggest Cup Final shocks of them all, a Third Division team beating a First Division team on a famously muddy pitch at Wembley. And for what it’s worth, Nick Hornby discusses this game in great detail in his book Fever Pitch, having attended as a miserable 11-year-old with his father, who made things worse by applauding Swindon Town at the final whistle!

That win got Swindon into Europe, incredibly – minor one-off competitions, but still. After going unbeaten in the last nine games of the season, they were promoted to the Second Division for the first time, then beat Roma over two legs, 5-2, to win the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup. In 1970 they won the Anglo-Italian Cup, beating Napoli in that Final. To know Swindon history, one should know the man who scored in all these finals: winger Don Rogers, scorer of 174 goals in 400 games for the Robins.

The next time Swindon Town went big time, it didn’t go so well. In their one and only season in the top flight, the 1993-94 Premier League campaign, they won just five games and conceded 100 goals, still a record. They fell to the third tier in 2000 and have been there, or worse, ever since.

Also, a good trivia question: Who played more games for one Football League club than anyone else? John Trollope, who pulled on a Robins kit 770 times from 1960 to 1980.

2024–25 SEASON: 17th in League Two, 3rd Round FA Cup, 2nd Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: League Two (relegated in 2021)

Oxford United are the biggest rival, the two being just 30 miles apart and often in the same league; however, Oxford has now been promoted to the Championship. Reading also gets some mention, as do the other clubs in the area, lately including Forest Green Rovers.

Swindon Town Women play in the fourth-tier Women’s National League Division One South West. Home games are at Cinder Lane, the home of Fairford FC. 

Nothing in particular we noticed

County Ground is a classic old football ground, right down to the giant floodlight towers and 1963 Rolex clock over the uncovered seats in one end – the only Rolex clock in a football ground in the world, they claim. That stand was supposed to get a roof when it replaced an old terrace, but the money ran out. It’s only used for big away contingents.

The ground opened in 1892, but of course what’s there now is more modern than that. Three of the four stands were built in the 1990s, so by current standards it’s still quite old. The home rowdies will be in the Town End behind a goal, and the away fans in the far end of the 1971 Arkell’s Stand, named for a local brewery.

TOURS: None

GETTING THERE: It’s just under a mile from the train station, so an easy 15-minute walk.

PUBS: The best option is the County Ground Hotel right next to the stadium. It will, of course, be heaving with home fans; the away lot has their own small bar inside the ground. By the station, the Queens Tap is a good choice, with outdoor seating. But the coolest place we saw in town was The Goddard Arms, up in the old town on the hill. More on that area below. The Glue Pot also gets high marks for real ales.

GRUB: There’s a Country Fayre chain pub near the ground. In the center, check out Harper’s at The Weighbridge for steak and pub fare, Los Gatos for tasty-looking tapas, and Fratellos for good Italian.

AROUND TOWN: When I told London friends Swindon was lovely, they assumed it was a “wind-up.” Not so! It’s actually a nice place with an interesting history, especially for railroad buffs. This was the main works area of the Great Western Railway starting in 1843, and by 1900, some 12,000 people were employed there. The company built a small village which still exists to some extent as a museum called Railway Village. There’s also STEAM, the railroad’s museum just by the station.

Computer nerds of a certain age will also want to check out the Museum of Computing in Theatre Square. You can play Pong, PlayStation games, or even Jupiter Lander on an old Commodore – and if you are under 50, you probably have no idea what this is all about, so never mind.

But you really should take a stroll to Old Town. Walk up to and along Wood Street, take in the views from Lawn’s Park, and pop into the many shops, restaurants and pubs up there. Swindon is a lovely day out from the capital, or a stop on the way to Bristol or other parts west.