Over the past year, Swindon has been through two lockdowns and is currently going through its third. That s not even taking into account the Tier 3 restrictions briefly placed on the town between Christmas and New Year. Below we showcase what Swindon looked like throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, starting with the first national lockdown in March.
Swindon town centre during the first lockdown in March
Shoppers queue for essential items during the first national lockdown in March
Children return to school in June after the first national lockdown
Queues as McDonald s reopens after the first national lockdown
A Black Lives Matter protest is staged at Regent Circus
Lockdown in pictures: Swindon scenes during 12 months of the coronavirus crisis swindonadvertiser.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swindonadvertiser.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The town passed another unwanted milestone when it registered its 800th case on July 26. That total would continue to rise throughout 2020 but it wasn t all doom and gloom in July. Thousands of people were captivated by the story of a hidden Swindon tunnel in Old Town. YouTuber Paul Whitewick and his wife Rebecca investigated Swindon s most dangerous street in one of their videos, which was viewed more than 100,000 times. The tunnel, a former railway line under Hunt Street, was something Paul had known about for a while and was keen to expose. He said: “We just thought it would make a good story, really. It’s a big town with a big population and railway history.
SHOPPERS in search of a bargain hit the sales on Boxing Day. But it was forecast to be a more muted sales day than in previous years - with many keeping away as Swindon was placed into Tier 3 restrictions. Bargain hunters were still queuing outside the Swindon Designer Outlet in Rodbourne at 9.30am – 90 minutes after the outlet opened its doors to shoppers. The town centre was also crowded.
Designer Outlet Boxing Day Sales..Pic - gv.Date 26/12/2020.
Queues outside the designer outlet on Saturday Picture: DAVE COX Nationally, Boxing Day sales were expected to plummet as coronavirus restrictions forced shops to close for large swathes of the UK.