SWINDON is home to several independent coffee shops who more than hold their own against the big national brands.

Some offer outdoor seating which is now allowed under newly-relaxed lockdown restrictions, while others offer takeaway-only options or are closed completely until indoor hospitality is allowed from May 17.

These are four of our favourites - let us know if there are any others you'd like us to shout out.

TRIPLE TWO COFFEE

Swindon Advertiser:

Triple Two Coffee has grown and grown since it opened as kiosk inside the Brunel Shopping Centre in 2016.

Along with its main branch off Havelock Square, it has opened other cafes around the UK and has plans to go international. 

DARKROOM ESPRESSO

Swindon Advertiser:

Launched in 2014, the coffee shop founded by Jacky Collyer and husband Andy Carter became a popular hub for hosting events.

The Aussie founders of the Faringdon Road cafe had to leave the UK in 2015 and handed the business to friends and fellow business owners of Oxford-based coffee house Brew.

A few years later, Stephen Jordan took over and is the current owner.

BAILA COFFEE AND VINYL

Swindon Advertiser:

The popular Victoria Road staple is a cafe by day and club by night, with owners as passionate about good coffee as they are about good music and live gigs.

Pre-pandemic, the cosy confines of the venue were often packed on the weekends, and its upper floor has been used for food-focused pop-ups like Gurt Wings and Gaetano Italian.

COWPUCCINO'S

Swindon Advertiser:

The Wroughton-based cafe doubles as a pizzeria and butchers which offered meat and frozen ready meals to take away while closed during the pandemic.

The owners said on Facebook: "We will return stronger than ever when we are allowed to do so."