Ashton Keynes

Swill Brook is the name of a number of streams in England, the most notable of which is the Swill Brook in Wiltshire. This stream flows for some 10 km or 6 miles in a generally easterly direction from its sources near the village of Crudwell to its confluence with the River Thames near Ashton Keynes. Its chief claim to fame is that the Thames is actually a tributary of the Swill Brook, as the latter is considerably larger than the Thames where they meet.

Pike Corner (grid reference SU036933) is a 15.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Wiltshire, England, notified in 1986. The site lies southwest of Ashton Keynes village and covers two low-lying meadows in the floodplain of the Swill Brook. For many years the meadows have been grazed without ploughing or the use of artificial fertilisers, therefore they have a rich flora with several meadow species that are now uncommon in southern England.

The Cotswold Water Park is the United Kingdom's largest marl lake system, straddling the Wiltshire–Gloucestershire border, north-west of Cricklade and south of Cirencester. There are 180 lakes, spread over 42 square miles (110 km2).The park is a mix of nature conservation activities, including nature reserves; recreation, including sailing, fishing, a country park and beach with water sports and play areas; rural villages; and holiday accommodation. It is a significant area for wildlife and particularly for wintering and breeding birds. The local wildlife trusts (Gloucestershire and Wiltshire) are involved in partnership with the Cotswold Lakes Trust charity in working with local communities and organisations in the area.

South Cerney is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, 3 miles south of Cirencester and close to the border with Wiltshire. It had a population of 3,074 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 3,464 at the 2011 census. In 2001 South Cerney was winner of the Bledisloe Cup for the best-kept village in Gloucestershire (large village class), having previously won the award in 1955.

Leigh is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Ashton Keynes and 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Cricklade. It is on the edge of the Cotswold Water Park and near to the county border with Gloucestershire. The parish includes the hamlet of Waterhay. The village lies on a minor road just north of the B4040 Malmesbury–Cricklade road. The infant River Thames forms part of the northern boundary of the parish; near the river is Upper Waterhay Meadow, a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Other boundaries are a short section of the Swill Brook which meets the Thames in the northwest; its tributary the Derry Brook in the west; and the Bournlake stream in the east.

All Saints Church was built around 1250 at Leigh, north Wiltshire, England, and was originally on a site half a mile to the north of its current location. In 1896, the nave, porch and bell tower were moved from their original location and a new church was built, which is now Grade II* listed. The chancel and the east gable of the old nave remain in the old churchyard as All Saints Chancel.

The Church of All Hallows is an Anglican parish church in the village of South Cerney, Gloucestershire. The church is of Norman origins, with medieval alterations and a major restoration in the 19th century. A Grade I listed building, it remains an active parish church.

Upper Waterhay Meadow (grid reference SU068937) is a 2.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in north Wiltshire, England, notified in 1971. It lies on the Thames floodplain in Ashton Keynes parish, downstream (east) of Ashton Keynes village and west of the town of Cricklade. The site is known for the snakeshead fritillary, which occurs predominantly in its less common white form. Since it was bought by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in 1970, the alluvial grassland has been managed for the benefit of the fritillaries.

South Cerney railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in Gloucestershire. The station opened on 18 December 1883 on the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway line from Swindon Town to the temporary terminus at Cirencester Watermoor. The S&CER line amalgamated in 1884 with the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway to form the M&SWJR, and through services beyond Cirencester to the junction at Andoversford with the Great Western Railway's Cheltenham Lansdown to Banbury line, which had opened in 1881, started in 1891. Cerney and Ashton Keynes station was just outside the village of South Cerney and about 2.5 miles north east of Ashton Keynes. In 1905, the Great Western Railway's Minety station on the Swindon to Kemble line was renamed as "Minety and Ashton Keynes": it was about the same distance south west of Ashton Keynes. The two stations were not in nominal competition for long, however. Cerney and Ashton Keynes was renamed as simply "Cerney" after 1910 and then, after the GWR had absorbed the M&SWJR at the Grouping in 1923, as "South Cerney". Passenger traffic at the station was never high, but there was much goods activity associated with the local gravel pits. As a whole, traffic on the M&SWJR fell steeply after the Second World War and the line closed to passengers in 1961, with goods facilities at South Cerney being withdrawn in July 1963. The only traces of the station remaining is the line of the track through the railway arches and part of the Signal Box in the garden of Ashmoon House. Part of the line remains in use as a cycle path.

South Cerney Castle was an adulterine castle of Motte and bailey construction built in South Cerney, Gloucestershire in the mid-12th century. Today only slight earthwork remains and they are a scheduled monument.

Acres Farm Meadow (grid reference SU024927) is a 4.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Wiltshire, notified in 1989. It lies between the villages of Somerford Keynes and Minety. The SSSI is the former site of a mediaeval ridge and furrow system which lies on the Upper Jurassic Oxford Clay. The site is home to grasses, sedges and herbs. Trees such as oak, maple, English elm (when notified, prior to Dutch elm disease) and hawthorn can be found in the hedgerows on the site, which provide nesting sites for lesser whitethroat, willow warbler, yellowhammer and bullfinch.

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.