Buffering Query

[malagabob]

I have an iPad Air, and lately it's been loading pages slow or not at all. Not every day but some.
When I tap on the Safari icon the blank search page comes up as normal but I have noticed without typing anything in the search box the little segmented wheel appears spinning as if it searching/downloading. It even happens when I type a single letter of a word. I've cleared the cookies. But it still happens.
TIA

[KJN]

The first thing most people say is try a soft reset :-

Press and hold the Power button until "slide to power off" appears then release.
Slide the Power switch right. Allow several seconds for the device to power off.
With the device powered off, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears then release.

[Sycamore3House]

Have you tried clearing your history? You can do this using safari or settings. Also are you closing your apps after use. I have an ipad2 and it is now getting very slow (over 5 years old) but doing these 2 tasks seems to help me.