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It is for its array of big businesses and multitude of offices that Bracknell is particularly well known though and there really is no shortage in the town. Some world renowned names have set up home or at least a base in the town, with the likes of Hewlett Packard, Dell, BMW, Syngenta and Siemens all situated nearby.
Not only is there business space in Bracknell, there are areas for fun and leisure too. Most notable perhaps is the Coral Reef leisure centre with its array of water-based activities, while just over the road from there is Swinley Forest which is home to the Go Ape high ropes and a vast swathe of woodland ideal for walks and family enjoyment. There is also a ski slope, an ice rink, a number of shops, bowling and cinema choices, and restaurants and pubs in the vicinity too. In fact, some of the town’s oldest pubs remain to this day, including the Old Manor pub which dates to the 17th century.
Although it was not until after the Second World War that Bracknell began to take the shape we see today, it was first mentioned as long ago as the 10th century in a Saxon document. At this time it was known as Braccan Heal. Another early name was Brakenhale and there is a school that is takes its name from this term. Bracknell covers the old villages of Easthampstead and Ramslade; Easthampstead Park was formerly used as a royal hunting lodge, a short distance from Windsor, while it was here that Catherine of Aragon was banished until her divorce too. Little of the original Bracknell remains, what with its rapid and massive expansion, far beyond that which was initially planned. In 1949 the town was designed for 25,000 people but today some 110,000 live in the town and its surrounding Bracknell Forest area.