Braydon Side

Brinkworth is a village and civil parish in northern Wiltshire, England. The village lies between Royal Wootton Bassett and Malmesbury, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the M4 motorway and 9 miles (14 km) west of Swindon. The west end of Brinkworth village is Causeway End. The civil parish of Brinkworth includes the hamlets of Braydon Side, Callow Hill, The Common, and the tithing of Grittenham, a rural community to the south of the village of Brinkworth.Much of Brinkworth village is a linear settlement along the east-west B4042, extending for some 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km). The village is sometimes described as the longest in England although others such as Meopham, Kent make the same claim.

Ravensroost Wood (grid reference SU022882) is a 43.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Wiltshire, England. The site lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Minety village and straddles the boundary between Minety and Braydon parishes.The wood is the largest remnant of Braydon Forest and has benefited from many years of consistent management. It has a variety of trees, shrubs and ground flora.The site was notified in 1989 and is managed – together with meadows to the north and south – as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. The university provides more than 30 land-based undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to students from over 45 countries through the School of Agriculture, the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the School of Equine and the School of Real Estate and Land Management.

Great Wood is a nature reserve of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, England.

Emmett Hill Meadows (grid reference SU009901) is a 5.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1987. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Distillery Farm Meadows (grid reference SU032898) is an 18.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1988. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Rural District was a rural district in the county of Wiltshire, England. It lay to the west and southwest of the town and municipal borough of Swindon. Following the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 the district was merged into the local government district of North Wiltshire.

Minety (/'maɪn.tiː/) is a village in north Wiltshire, England, between Malmesbury – 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west – and Swindon. It takes its name from the water mint plant found growing in ditches around the village, and has previously been known as Myntey. It has a primary school and a successful rugby club.

Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in the flood plain of the upper Bristol Avon. Today, the parish is split by the M4 motorway, with a chain of historic smaller settlements spread either side. Dauntsey Green is north of the motorway, along with Dauntsey Church at the entrance to Dauntsey Park; to the south are Greenman's Lane, Sodom and Dauntsey Lock. Dauntsey Lock is on the former Wilts and Berks Canal (presently being restored), the course of which runs alongside the Bristol-London mainline railway.

Minety and Ashton Keynes railway station serving the village of Minety in Wiltshire, England, was opened in 1841 on the former Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway line from Gloucester to Swindon; it was originally called just Minety. The Cheltenham and Great Western Union connected to the South Wales Railway in Gloucester and to the Great Western Railway at Swindon. The Cheltenham and Great Western Union and the South Wales lines were both later absorbed by the Great Western Railway, which provided the train services on the line. In 1905 the station was renamed Minety & Ashton Keynes. In 1948 the Great Western Railway was nationalised and the station thereafter was owned by British Rail. Although the line remains open the station closed in November 1964 and has been demolished, except for parts of the platforms.Trains run along what is now called the Golden Valley Line from London Paddington via Reading, Didcot Parkway and Swindon, then past the three closed stations of Purton, Minety and Oaksey Halt to Kemble, continuing to Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa. When engineering work closes the Severn Tunnel, trains from Paddington to Swansea are diverted from the Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line via Bristol Parkway, to then run through Minety and via Kemble to Gloucester, then along the Gloucester to Newport Line through Lydney, Chepstow and Caldicot before rejoining the normal line at Severn Tunnel Junction. Originally built as dual track, British Rail reduced the line between Kemble and Swindon to single track in 1968. Network Rail investigated the options for reinstating the second track, along with the estimated cost (see Golden Valley Line). In the 2011 Budget the Government announced that funding for the redoubling was to be provided and the work was completed in August 2014.

Dauntsey railway station served the village of Dauntsey, Wiltshire from 1868 to 1965. It was situated on the Great Western Main Line which runs from London to Bristol. The station site is a mile and a half south of Dauntsey village and is near Dauntsey Lock which suggests that the station was important to the Wilts & Berks Canal. Dauntsey was a small station with three platforms, two of which are similar in length to the platforms at Corsham which is further down the line between Chippenham and Bath. The station had a main building with a canopy on the up platform (towards London) and the platform on the opposite side had a small brick shelter, also with a canopy. Dauntsey station became the junction for the branch line to Malmesbury in 1877. The up platform was extended west of the road bridge with a bay platform to accommodate trains on the branch line. When the GWR built the South Wales Main Line in 1903 it passed a few miles north of Dauntsey. In 1933 the connection between the Malmesbury branch and the main line was moved to Little Somerford on the newer main line, and the redundant section between Dauntsey and Somerford became a siding. The canopy used for the branch line platform was moved to Yatton station where it can still be seen today. Most of Dauntsey station was demolished in 1977 although the station house and the up platform remain.