Milton Keynes: More Than Just Concrete Cows

Milton Keynes is a city, a part of the unitary authority of the Borough of Milton Keynes, in Central-Southeast England, located 72 km (45 miles) northwest of London and approximately midway between Oxford and Cambridge. The name of this purpose-built, high-technology 'new city' is taken from the traditional Milton Keynes Village, which is still there, housing a lovely thatched pub, village hall, and a church.

The nearest international airport, Luton, is located about 50 km away, which is mainly used by low cost airlines, such as Easyjet and Ryanair. Birmingham International Airport is also located about a 100 km away. Most of the train services are operated by Virgin and Silverlink, and there are frequent services to London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and further north. National Express maintains long-distance coaches from London Victoria Coach Station and Golders Green Bus Station, and there are several other bus services to the Midlands and North. Stagecoach, on the other hand, operates a coach service running to Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Cambridge.

Milton Keynes has over 350 dining establishments in and around the city, offering almost every type of local and international cuisine to suit all tastes and budgets. The Theatre District, for example, has everything from oriental cuisine to fast food chains such as Pizza Hut. Smaller, independent restaurants can be found in outlying areas such as Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Fenny Stratford. Some of the most crowded and lively pubs and clubs are also located within this district, with venues offering a range of modern, thrilling, sporty, laid-back and friendly atmospheres. As for more traditional pubs, head along the Stony Stratford high street.

There are many places to stay in and around Milton Keynes from small, friendly bed and breakfasts through to the usual large hotels. You may even get to see the famous concrete cows when you visit this new town.

Being one of the major retail areas in Southeast England, Milton Keynes has an extensive variety of shops, markets and superstores. The Centre in Milton Keynes is one of Europe's longest shopping centres, which houses a number of high street stores and smaller, specialist shops. Midsummer Place shopping centre, on the other hand, is a £150 million establishment which provides the city with an additional 430,000 sq ft of city centre shopping. More traditional shopping atmosphere can be found at the older towns of Stony Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Bletchley, Wolverton, Woburn Sands, and Olney.

The most visited tourist attractions in Milton Keynes include Bletchley Park, where code breakers during World War II were sequestered; Xscape, a sports and entertainment complex that features indoor snow slopes, climbing walls, bowling lanes, a multi-screen cinema and a variety of interactive games; Willen Lake, 180 acre lake and park, offering all types of watersports, high ropes course, adventure golf, play area, mini railway, pub and cafes; Gulliver's Land, a theme park; National Hockey Stadium, where the MK Dons play home games; Milton Keynes Theatre, where travelling shows and long running productions are staged; the Bletchley Park museum of wartime cryptography; and the Milton Keynes Museum, which features the Stacey Hill Collection of rural life that existed before the foundation of the new city.

Some of the popular festivals and events in the city include Gardening Show, Free Events, Campbell Park Fireworks, Sherlock's Excellent Adventure, Salsa Events, Slava's Snowshow, etc.