'''Milton Keynes''' [http://www.mkweb.co.uk/home/] is a very large town in the South East of England.
Understand
When people mention Milton Keynes, nine times out of ten they will be met with: _gugh, it_fs a soulless new city_h or _gwhat, is that the place with the concrete cows?_h What is most irritating is that often the people that make these dispassionate comments are those who have neither lived, nor indeed spent much time there. Yes it is a new city and yes, the centre of that city could be described as a little soulless with its chain restaurants and large shopping centre, but it was built on 150 million years of history and dotted around the 22,000 acres of countryside it resides in are many things to do, see and explore. Sites dating back to 2000 BC have been unearthed along with the remains of a major Roman villa, then dispersed amongst the city, itself built amongst many old towns, are numerous green spaces, a plethora of indoor and outdoor activities and fabulous shopping opportunities. The Ministry of Housing and Local Governments brief in 1967 requested a new town that could accommodate an incoming population of 150,000 Londoners over a period of 20 years. Now Milton Keynes is a thriving city of contrasts; from innovative new business and entertainment hubs, to theatre, cinema, walks in natural parkland, pub lunches and peaceful canal trips; it really does have something on offer for everyone _c and yes, it really does have concrete cows!
Get in
Milton Keynes is conveniently located on both the M1 motorway (at junction 14) and the West Coast Main Line, and as a result there are a large number of ways to both enter and leave the town.
The M1 motorway connects London with Birmingham, before continuing north to Liverpool and Manchester. Milton Keynes is approximately half-way between London and Birmingham. There are also links east and west on the A40 to Bedford, Cambridge and Oxford.
Coach services to many cities (including Oxford and Cambridge) can be taken from either the train station, town centre or the Coachway, which is located near the motorway junction.
Rail connections are maintained by Virgin and London Midland, and frequent trains connect to London, Northampton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and further north.
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The Park and Ride service is now back to its original operation. Service 200 buses run every 30 minutes from Central Milton Keynes to MK Coachway Sunday to Friday and every 15 minutes on Saturdays, see [http://www.parkandride.net/milton_keynes/miltonkeynes_frameset.shtml National Park and Ride Directory]
Get around
Public transport within Milton Keynes has never been great - But it is getting better all the time. The bus operator - MK Metro - has recentlly been purchased by Arriva, and standards are improving. Buses in Milton Keynes are more frequent, and all estates are quite well covered. There are regular buses from most places to the city centre, train station and Bletchley. Travelling by car is usually preferable, as one of Milton Keynes' saving graces is its road network, although during rush hour, it can get somewhat congested in some areas.
The dominance of the car is greatly helped by the road layout - the main roads of the city are laid out in a grid system with roundabouts at the intersections, so getting about is quick, although predictably less so in rush hour. The grid is formed of numbered 'H' roads running horizontally on the map and 'V' roads running vertically. Visitors who drive to Milton Keynes often get lost on these roads, because they all look the same - the main roads are in tree-lined linear valleys to reduce road noise so there are few landmarks visible to navigate by. A map is recommended for people new to the town.
Pedestrians and cyclists have their own network of 'redways' - paths made of red tarmac that broadly follow the grid roads but never meet them, either crossing over or underneath. The redways are a good way to get about during the day, but at night some of the underpasses can be dangerous places. You will generally be okay in more populated areas, and most are well lit. As with any place you are unfamiliar with, caution is advised, and as many of the redways cross minor roads cyclists and those with children should beware of traffic!
Be warned that the redways are often not well signposted, and that traversing them without a map can lead to you getting lost quite quickly!
See
A must is the concrete cows (just off the H3, in Bancroft) for which Milton Keynes is famous/notorious.
Another feature is the giant Xscape dome, home to a sixteen screen cinema and the largest indoor ski slope in the United Kingdom.
The Peace Pagoda in Willen Park is also worth a visit for a more tranquil experience.
Do
Milton Keynes has a number of attractions for the adventurous. Willen Lake has a wakeboard tow rope system, the Xscape has an indoor snow slope, a climbing wall and an indoor skydiving tower, the central bus station has a skate park and there's a BMX track at Pineham.
Families with younger children might like to head for the Gulliver's Land theme park, Eco Park next door, or take a stroll and have a picnic at the nearby Willen Lake.
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. play home games at the Stadium:mk, on the south of the city.
Reflecting the local value of the car culture, a growing car cruise and meet is staged in the car parks around the Hockey Stadium on Sunday nights, and it is popular both with modders and the police.
The Milton Keynes Theatre is billed as the country's "most popular" - it has the most people attending for any theatre in the country. Travelling shows and longer running productions are staged here, often large productions will come here as a final dry run before they take their shows to London's West End.
'''Stony Stratford''' is worth a visit to experience the more tranquil and traditional side of Milton Keynes. About 10 mins from the City Centre by car, you will find a quaint high-street with some quirky independent shops, lots of pubs where you can get good old-fashioned British grub, a pint of beer and warm yourself by a real fire during colder months. If you feel like taking a stroll you can walk out of the town and take a pleasant stroll along the river.
'''Woburn Village''' is about a 15-minute car journey from Milton Keynes and is well worth a visit.
Buy
The Centre: MK is the main [http://www.thecentremk.com shopping centre] for the surrounding area and is where most of the shopping in Milton Keynes is to be had. It features branches of many high street chains, with over 230 stores! The centre is undercover with good disabled access. The High Street in Stony Stratford offers a pleasant but small alternative. Most residential areas have their own convenience store.
There are various retail parks with the larger DIY, carpet, furniture and warehouse-style clothes shops.
Eat
Milton Keynes has a wide variety of restuarants both in the City Centre and in the outlying areas.
In the city centre the restaurants are centred around the the theatre district, Xscape and the new area the hub.
'''Taipan''', 5 Savoy Crescent, tel 01908 331883. This is a excellent Chinese restaurant in the heart of the Theatre district
'''Jaipur''', 599 Grafton Gate East, tel 01908 669796 - This place serves good Indian food in a purpose built building. They claim to be the largest purpose built curry house in Europe.
'''The Plough at Wavendon''', 72 Walton Road, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, tel 01908 587576 - This excellent new restuarant is on the edge of Milton Keynes in the village of Wavendon. It is aiming for Michelin stars and as a such serves an excellent quality of food although it is a bit pricey.
There is a wider range of smaller independent restaurants in outlying areas such as Stony Stratford, Wolverton, and Fenny Stratford. There is also decent pub food (and somewhat better beer) at The Plough in Simpson, and Ye Olde Swan in Woughton on the Green. Pub grub at the Old Beams in Shenley Lodge can not be beaten.
The Salford Swan, while not strictly within Milton Keynes itself, is well worth a look for some excellent pub-cum-restaurant food with a delightful atmosphere.
Drink
On a summer evening a trip to the theatre district / Xscape almost transports you to a Spanish holiday resort, such are the number of bars and clubs with people walking between them. Not much for a CAMRA member here though, as its more for the bottle of Bud or Smirnoff Ice crowd..
More traditional pubs can be found along the Stony Stratford high street, this area is popular for pub crawls at weekends. Newport Pagnell, a few miles from the city centre, is also a good option, with many good pubs and a good atmosphere
Sleep
Youth Hostel
A youth hostel can be found in the district of Bradwell. The house itself dates from the seventeenth century (an oddity in Milton Keynes) and is in very pleasant surroundings. There are rooms and dormatories available. A bed in a dormatory normally costs around __13 a night. The house and facilities are kept nice and clean and secure lockers are available at no additional cost to store valuables.
Hotels
Milton Keynes offers a variety of chain hotels, including Holiday Inn, Hilton, Ramada, Jury's Inn, Travelodge and Holiday Inn Express. Some are located in the bustling town centre and others in more peaceful spots, including the Holiday Inn Express adjacent to Willen Lake.
Get out
'''The night life'''
The nightlife (pubs and clubs) in Milton Keynes are focussed around the theatre district and snow dome areas.
'''Alternative venues'''
'''The Pitz:''' Woughton Leisure Centre, Rainbow Drive, Leadenhall. 500 capacity venue catering mainly for rock based acts, large supporter of local music.
'''Sabotage''' Refurb, Margaret Powell Square Theatre District Central Milton Keynes (Friday) & Station Square Elder Gate Milton Keynes (Mondays).
City based alternative promotion with a wide range of music from DJ's to live bands