Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade

Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade community area hosts a wide range of communities from Hook with a few dwellings to the four major settlements including the two market towns of Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade, as well as Purton and Lyneham. The community area is mainly rural, although easy access to the M4 provides direct links to both Bristol and London.  The nearby town of Swindon is the real economic generator for the area.

The community area covers 154 square kilometres. The larger settlements act almost as dormitory suburbs of Swindon, which is situated just six miles to the east and is a 15 minute car journey from the main settlements.

The landscape of the north is dominated by scores of lakes and the area has now become a recognised wildlife area and water park in the form of the Cotswold Water Park which borders the Cotswolds Area Of Natural Beauty (AONB). In the south around Lyneham a broad escarpment provides almost the last outcrop of the Marlborough Downs while Broad Town partly lies within the Wessex AONB.