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. It is twinned with St Vallier-sur-Rhône , France and Witzenhausen, Germany.

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.