Bracknell

Transport     

There are two railway stations in Bracknell, one is the Bracknell railway station, and another is the Martins Heron station. Both of the stations fall on the same railway track that originates from Waterloo and terminates at Reading.

Bracknell is located at the terminal end of the A329 (M) motorway. The A329 (M) and A3290 were actually to be a part of a new motorway M31 that was meant for connecting M3 and M4, but that could not be completed.

Bracknell is served by the Bracknell bus station which is located on The Ring. The bus stand has three stands and three shelters – one for each stand. Wokingham, Crowthorne, Windsor, Camberley, Slough, and Reading are the towns that are served well by the Bracknell Bus Stand. Local bus services in Bracknell is provided by the Reading Buses and the Courtney Bus Services. While Courtney serves the National Express and the Luton Flyer, the London Victoria is served with coach services by the Green Line.

Education

Various institutes in Bracknell provide for the schooling of the young children as well as college going students. These include:  

• Brakenhale Academy
• Easthampstead Park School
• Garth Hill College and Ranelagh Church of England School
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Colleges in Bracknell include:

• The Bracknell and Wokingham College
• Royal Holloway College
• The University of Reading
• The Silwood Park campus of Imperial College – for further education

Arts

Bracknell is home to a mansion that dates back to 1760. The said mansion is lcated in the southern part of the town and has been rebuilt several times. As of today, the mansion is a huge arts centre. Bracknell is also known for being the home of The Wilde Theatre which was opened in 1984 and has been named after the famous author Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was quite influenced by Bracknell as one of his plays had a character called 'Lady Bracknell' in it.

Besides the theaters, Bracknell is also known for the various festivals that are organised every year. Some of them are:

• 1975 – 1990s : Bracknell Jazz Festival
• 1970s – 1980s : Bracknell Folk
• 1980s – 1990s : Bracknell Music Festival  also known as the South Hill Park Festival
• 1988 – onwards: Womad Festival
• 2000s – 2013 : A free Music Festival held annualy

Certain places in Bracknell became famous when movies were shot at these locations. Martin Heron, a location in Bracknell, became famous as the residence of Harry Potter’s Uncle and Aunt in the “Harry Potter and the  Philosopher’s Stone”. Birch Hill also became famous when the location was used for filming scenes for the movie Time Bandits. Birch Hill is also famous for naming its streets in alphabetic order from east to west.