OUR COMMUNITY
Ashton Keynes is a small village in the county of Wiltshire, in the South West of England. There are about 1500 people living in the village, with more than 150 children at the local primary school. The nearest towns are Swindon and Cirencester.
 |
The centre of the village looks very pretty, because the River Thames flows through here on its way to London, and we even have more bridges over it than they do in the centre of the capital! With two huge playing fields, there are plenty of places to play games such as football, tennis, and cricket – there is even a place to play boules.
Around the edge of the village are loads of large lakes, which have been dug for gravel. There are plenty of places nearby to walk, cycle, watch wildlife and do watersports – we think we are very lucky to live here!
What is the village like?
Some of the oldest houses in the village date back more than 400 years, and the church is even older as it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Fifty years ago, there used to be more shops, pubs and businesses, but now there is a shop ( hi Sheila!) a post office, two pubs, a hairdresser and a very busy garage, run by generations of Ellison’s.
The school was built over 100 years ago, and because there are so many pupils we have a brand new school hall which we use for assemblies, plays and other activities.
Many of the houses in Ashton Keynes have been built from local stone, called Bradstone which was made at a factory just down the road.
Class 5 went on a tour of the Bardon Aggregates factory, where they make stone blocks, and garden ornaments. The best bit was wearing ear plugs and playing in the mud in our wellies!
In the winter, some of the main roads get very muddy, because the gravel lorries are taking stone and gravel from the quarries to local sites for use in building.
Our village and our thoughts…from Class 5
Ashton Keynes is a quiet village with quiet countryside and farms....there is loads of wildlife.........small village so it is easy to see my friends ....The neighbours are really friendly.....we are very eco friendly......the village is twinned with a French village called Grandchamp-des-Fontaines....we have a quarry nearby which provides jobs for people in the village....you can walk to the nature reserve.
One village shop with a kind owner - if you want something it’s not too far away.....there is a hairdressers, two pubs, a village post office, 7 post boxes.....on Tuesday a fish and chip van comes at 8.00pm. don’t miss it!
Our school is big and old and is a good school......we have a pond in our school......there is a playgroup and Pre school where you can go if you are really little.
Two big fun play parks to visit with your friends.....fun for all ages with lots of exciting activities nearby. The village has lots of clubs.....at the Bradstone field there is cricket and football......there are lots of footpaths, lakes, Keynes Country Park, lots of sports like water skiing nearby...horse riding and loads more.
Some not-so-good things about the village........
When you are walking around the village you sometimes see dog business.......there is some litter in places like the rivers....some cars drive too fast through the village.....Once in a while there is a little bit of vandalism.....mud on roads from lorries and tractors.....horse poop on the road.....some graffiti.....potholes in the road.....sometimes there are noisy builders.
Aerial view of Cleveland lakes
Image credit: RH Bewley
Wildlife havens
Image credit: CWPS