Waitrose – Swindon

I had some clue that this Waitrose existed, thanks to Mr. Snarky, however, I had never been to it. One night we drove by it and I saw one of the buses that stops just outside. So after wandering about one day, waiting for Mr. Snarky to finish at work so we could head back to Bolton, I decided to take the bus out to Waitrose after looking up that they had a café that I could perch in.
My experiences with Waitrose haven’t been very many as I have often been in towns that don’t have a Waitrose. However, this one is impressive and makes me wish this was down the street from the apartment. Firstly, this one is on the canal with seating outside. It was a gorgeous day and a really good move on Waitrose’s part as those walking along the canal may stop in for coffee and cake.
There is a juice/​smoothie bar at the front of the store as you enter while there is a bakery with coffee shop at the back of the store. There is a little bar area where you can sit and enjoy or just take a break from shopping. The shop offers a nice variety of items, but yes, some of it is a bit pricier than the discount stores. However, you are probably more likely to find those specialty items you need to make that recipe you saw on t.v. here than in one of those discount stores… so pros and cons.
There is a small toiletry area, but no housewares, etc. As I was walking through the beverage and alcohol aisle, I did notice a small «bar» where it looks like there might be wine tasting??? It was hard to see as there were a number of men in suits crowded around, but I swear they were having a late afternoon drink.
There are self checkout kiosks if you prefer those, but it seemed like the majority of Waitrose customers prefer the staffed tills. Free loos through the seating area of the café. The café does offer different desserts than the bakery at the back of the store and they also offer hot food. You can sit inside… or you can sit outside, overlooking the canal. The set up is really quite nice. I took my tea outside to one of the picnic tables along the canal and admired the plants and gardening items they had on sale outside. Love this store and wish it was my regular store!

It’s a great store. Very polite & helpful staff, lovely new store with a good selection of products. I like the juice bar & coffee bar by the bakery. Whilst Waitrose food isn’t the cheapest in my experience it is very good quality with good ideas for meals too. I would say it’s possible to get reasonably priced products there & some of their offers are easily as good as the other major supermarkets. It is definitely worth a try.