Swindon

An illuminating and infectiously enthusiastic guidebook to a town that many imagine is uninteresting and unattractive. Angela Atkinson's popular blog, 'Born Again Swindonian', shows how wrong this impression is, and she has now produced a full colour description and guide to prove it. Her words carry a genuine passion and commitment for her adopted home town, and her book is jam packed with pages explaining why. Her numerous, varied pilgrimages on foot around our town at a time when most people travel anonymously in cars has led her to see things in her own way and to feel drawn to share her thoughts with us all. Her conviction to shine light into sometimes neglected places has revealed surprising facts, helping people to discover more about what had felt like familiar places. Her commitment is exemplary, both to telling stories and for seeking successful outcomes for the places that she cares deeply about. Her observations are timely. From blue plaques to bluebells, computing to copses, sculptures to Swindon secrets, there is something for everyone sandwiched between these pages.