Bracknell

Located in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England, Bracknell is a town having a population of 77,256. It is located 11 miles to the east of Reading and 34 miles west of central London. The name, Bracknell, comes from Braccan Heal. It may also have got its name from a school in the locality called the Brakenhale. There is a standing stone to the north-east of the city known as the Quelm Stone. The Quelm Stone is a menhir i.e. a stone that is rough and in the form of a rectangle or square. One of the main buildings in Bracknell is the ‘Old Manor House’ which used to be home to a number of priest holes which were used as hiding places when the Catholic priests were executed by law forcefully in England. During such times the Catholic priests could hide in one of these holes or escape to somewhere else using the tunnels that were built beneath them.

Transport in Bracknell      

The two railway stations in Bracknell that include Bracknell itself and  Martins Heron as well are located on a common line that runs from  Waterloo to Reading. Commuters from Bracknell travel mostly in two directions i.e. Eastwards to London Waterloo and Westwards to Reading.

It is located at the end of the A329 (M) motorway.A motorway. M31  was proposed to be built for connecting the M3 and the M4 but only a part of that could be completed which is now known as the A329(M) and the A3290.

The Bracknell bus station, located on The Ring, serves Bracknell. There are three shelters on the bus stand, one each for the three stands. The Bracknell Bus Stand provides services to Wokingham, Crowthorne, Windsor, Camberley, Slough, and Reading.  The Courtney Bus Services and Reading Buses provide local bus services.  The Green Line provides coach services to London Victoria while the Courtney Buses provided services to the National Express and The Luton Flyer.

Education

Bracknell provides schooling as well as further education through the various institutes in the city itself. Some of the schools in the area are :

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

Colleges of further education in and around Bracknell are listed below:

• Bracknell is home to the Bracknell and Wokingham College
• The Silwood Park campus of Imperial College London is also a destination for those who wish to go for further education. The college is located 5 miles to the east of Bracknell.
• To the northwest at a distance of 8 miles is The University of Reading
• 8 miles to the east is the Royal Holloway College

Arts

A mansion dating back to 1760 stands in the south of the town which has been rebuilt many times now serves as a large arts centre. The Wilde Theatre named after Oscar Wilde and opened in 1984  has hosted his play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ which has a character called 'Lady Bracknell' in it. Over the years, the South Hill Park has seen a number of music performances in various festivals.A list follows:

1975 – 1990s Bracknell Jazz Festival        

1970's – 1980s Bracknell Folk

1980's – 1990s – Bracknell Music Festival  or the South Hill Park Festival

1988 – Womad Festival

2000 – 2013 – A free and an annual festival of World Music.

Many places in Bracknell have been used in films. The locations include  Martin Heron and Birch Hill.In Harry Potter and the  Philosopher’s Stone, Martin Heron is the locality in Bracknell where Harry’s Uncle and Aunt stay. Another movie, Time Bandits, used the location Birch Hill. Birch Hill is also known for naming its streets from east to west in an alphabetic order.