Local Travels: The greener side of Milton Keynes

Recently (Easter Monday) I took a trip with mother dearest to Milton Keynes.

I must admit that I am rather a fan of Milton Keynes, at least for shopping. There’s a decent selection of shops (fashion, cafes, Disney store, etc), all undercover in one huge shopping centre, meaning rain or cold can’t disrupt a retail therapy session. It’s especially a godsend at Christmas, because while cold and slush and wind are nice, by darkest, deepest December, it’s starting to get a little tiring.

However, aside from the shopping centre, I have seen very little of Milton Keynes.

Well, I’ve seen dozens of numbered, business-sponsored roundabouts (MK loves its roundabouts), and on the handful of times I’ve caught the X5 bus which goes via Milton Keynes to Cambridge, I have been given a very thorough tour of the rail station bus stop complex. But I had never explored Milton Keynes by foot, and the glorious weather we had on Monday gave me an opportunity to do so. I looked on Google Maps, found that a park bordered the shopping centre, and off Mum and I went.

Surprisingly, it turns out that Milton Keynes has over 35 parks, most of which are connected to each other using underpasses and bridges. Within minutes of leaving the centre, we could hear birdsong, see fields and sheep, and the only clue we were in the middle of a city was the sound of traffic. This was the view we had within minutes:

Blue skies and open parkland in the middle of an urban jungle.

Campbell Park continued past woodland, open grassland (carefully maintained by eco-lawnmower sheep) and cricket pitches. Passing over a canal, and past a fairly loud themepark (it wasn’t all idyllic), we eventually reached my goal of Willen Lake, which was absolutely packed with local families relaxing on one of the first nice days of the year. The crowds, hordes of kids, and go karts being raced along the paths distracted me from photographing, but I can set the scene for you. Big lake. Sunshine. Blue skies. Many people and many pushchairs. Ice cream van. Pretty etc etc etc

After admiring the view (and glaring at a few brats children who pushed past us in their games, we decided to begin the journey back, and on our way we discovered the MK Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple. It had a cherry tree in full blossom, and so I was obliged to take multiple pictures of masses of pink blooms. Cue picture show:

The pagodas’ garden complete with pond, miniature bridge, and cherry blossom.

Many many flowers

Filters may have been applied, but I couldn’t resist ;)

After boring Mum with my self-indulgent photography session, we wandered back in the vague direction of the car, and we discovered another little gem; a tree cathedral.

Trees, in straight lines….oooooo!

For those who have not had the delight of visiting a tree cathedral, the basic idea is to lay trees out in the shape of a cross/church, and as they grow they will create a living ‘building’ with the trees touching overhead in an arch of sorts. This was my first, and it was quite pretty, though didn’t particular strike me as church-shaped.

After enjoying the ambience here for a little while, we continued back to the centre, and I spent the drive home scoffing chocolate eclairs and listening to Shakira whilst trying to ignore Mum’s horrendous hummed harmonies.

‘Whenever, wherever, we’re meant to be together….’

DSP