Distillery Farm Meadows

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.

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.

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.

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.

Brandier is a hamlet in north Wiltshire, England, near Minety. Until the Counties Act of 1844, it was in Gloucestershire. Brandier was the site of extensive Roman kilns and potteries which supplied the nearby regional capital of Corinium (Cirencester) with ceramic building materials. 'Minety Ware' was in production until at least the medieval period and has been found as far afield as Germany. The hamlet once stood at a crossroads, one road of which, Crow Lane, is now a public right of way. The other, where Crossing Lane is today, roughly corresponds to the Roman road leading to Cirencester, where it connects with the Fosse Way. The largest dwelling in the hamlet is Brandiers Farm, mostly dating from the 16th century although excavations have shown it to have been built on extensive Roman foundations, making it arguably the oldest building in the parish.

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.

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.

Braydon is a civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Swindon, between Purton and Minety. A thinly-populated farming area with no settlements apart from the farms, it is best known for sharing its name with Braydon Forest. The population of the parish was 48 in 1881 and was little changed in 2011, at 43.The River Key rises in the parish and flows north-east to join the Thames. Ravensroost Wood, in the far west of the parish, is a nature reserve managed by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

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.

Clattinger Farm (grid reference SU012933) is a 60.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Ashton Keynes is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England which borders with Gloucestershire. The village is about 5 miles (8 km) south of Cirencester and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Cricklade. At the 2011 census the population of the parish, which includes the hamlet of North End, was 1,400.The village lies within the Cotswold Water Park and on both sides of the River Thames, which has many channels here. It is about 6.5 miles (10 km) from the river's source at Thames Head.

Braydon Side is a farming hamlet in north Wiltshire, England, in the parish of Brinkworth. It lies about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) north of Brinkworth village.