The opening of the new Go Outdoors marks the end of an era for one of Swindon's most beloved past stores - Toys R Us. 

Despite closing almost four years ago, the Oxford Road site had say untouched and unchanged throughout that time.

The Toys R Us logo and recognisable, albeit faded, colours served as a nostalgic  reminder of the building's popularity as a huge draw for families and children across the county. 

Swindon Advertiser:

But last year camping and outdoors firm Go Outdoors announced that it would be moving into the abandoned unit, leaving behind its Ocotal Way home of several years. 

After weeks of work to get the longstanding empty building ready, Go Outdoors opened to the public today, finally giving them a chance to see how the building had transformed. 

Outside the iconic Toys R Us lettering has been replaced by sleek modern panneling and the bold Go Outdoors logo. On one side there are 'outdoor' murals, but other than that not much has changed.

Swindon Advertiser:

Inside, a map of Swindon and the surrounding area, and a dog bowl with treats in, greets you on the way in. The endless maze of corridors people will remember from Toys R Us has been replaced by a fairly open plan set-up stretching across two floors.

Gone are the endless aisles of toys upon toys, replaced instead by toys for adults, literally anything you could possibly need for adventuring, travelling and, well, going outdoors. 

Tents, hot tubs, clothing, horse-riding gear and more. There are also smaller units or recognisable companies like Naylors, an equestrian and pet brand, Bike 365 and Fishing Republic. 

Swindon Advertiser:

While it has opened to the public now, there will be a grand opening this coming Saturday where special celebrity guests footballer David Seaman and television presenter and actress Helen Skelton.

John Hinde, Associate Director at GO Outdoors, said: “We are really excited to be in the position to be opening this new store, to serve our customers in Swindon. We’ve been incredibly proud to see it all come to life in its new location and are looking forward to seeing our customers’ reaction.

"The decision to invest in the Swindon store was a simple one. We have created a great team who have been delighting customers for years in other retail roles so I’m confident our customers will be just as thrilled as we are with their new store.”