Filton

Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, on the northern outskirts of Bristol. Filton is found on junction 1 of the M32 motorway and junction 16 of the M5 motorway. It also has a small railway station, not far from Parkway. The old railway station was relocated to serve the MOD building when it opened - the new station is called Filton Abbey Wood. It is twinned with St Vallier-sur-Rh?ne, France and Witzenhausen, Germany. The local football (soccer) team is named "St Vallier FC" after its French twin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Filton is notable as a centre of the aerospace industry, with BAE Systems, Airbus and Rolls Royce having factories located around Filton Aerodrome, a connection that dates back to the early days of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. On 26 November 2003, Concorde 216 (G-BOAF) made the final ever Concorde flight, returning to Filton to be kept there permanently as the centrepiece of a projected air museum. This museum will include the existing Bristol Aero Collection which is currently kept in a hangar at Kemble Airfield, forty miles from Filton. This collection includes a Bristol Britannia aircraft which would presumably also be brought to Bristol. Other companies and organizations such as the MOD, Viridor, Hewlett Packard and Royal Mail also have a presence in Filton.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Filton has a range of educational facilities, including Filton College, Filton High School and several primary schools. The University of the West of England is at nearby Frenchay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Filton has two main shopping areas - the Shield Centre and Abbey Wood Retail Park, as well as many local shops. To the east of the town there is a small area of woodland known as Splatt's Abbey Wood, with an interesting history and thankfully the MOD complex has not destroyed it. There is also a large golf course located at Filton, which belongs to Filton Golf Club.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England: :For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology)....

Bristol: :This article is about the English city of Bristol. For other uses please see Bristol (disambiguation)....

M32 motorway: The M32 motorway is the main artery road in Bristol, England. Starting at Junction 19 of the M4, it runs south past Filton, Frenchay, Horfield, Lockleaze, Easton and St Pauls and into the centre of Bristol. At approximately 5 miles (8 km) long, it is one of Britain's shortest motorways, with only th...