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City in Buckinghamshire, England
Photo: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Milton Keynes is a city of 245,000 people (2019) in the South East of England. Milton Keynes is well known in the UK as a planned city built in the 1960s with emphatically modernist architecture. 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; and yes, it really does have the famous concrete cows (as well as real ones)!
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During World War II this country estate was the headquarters of a code-breaking project named ULTRA. This was a huge triumph for British Intelligence; they broke nearly all the codes used by the Germans and Italians and read most of their supposedly secret communications throughout the war. This was of enormous value to Allied commanders.
Arguably the Colossus machine — built at Bletchley to crack the Lorenz cipher used by parts of the German army — was the first programmable digital computer. Certainly Alan Turing — a Cambridge mathematician who was a key code-breaker during the war — made large contributions to the theory of computation before the war, and to both theory and practice after it. Several other ex-Bletchley people also became computer pioneers in the postwar years
The historic value of this site has now been belatedly recognised in the form of a museum with a significant number of things to do for both adults and children.
Bletchley Park is home to the National Museum of Computing. Only the Colossus Galleries of the NMC are open 7 days per week; the full museum is open most weekends and some weekdays.
In the UK, the city is known for its concrete cows, an art installation created by Liz Leyh (was once just off the H3, in Bancroft, but now is in the Milton Keynes Museum).
The first example in the Western world, is also worth a visit for a more tranquil experience.
A charming and picturesque market town and centre of its eponymous district. It contains a number of buildings in the 'Arts and Crafts' style, notably The Old School House pub, 'The Retreat' alms houses and 'Nisi Domus' beside the RC Church.
Built in 1811, cast iron trough navigable aqueduct that carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Great Ouse,
A giant dome, home to a 16-screen cinema and Snozone, the largest indoor ski slope in the United Kingdom.
Indoor activity venue with a large karting circuit that hosts the British Rental Kart Championship, together with axe throwing, escape rooms, virtual clay shooting and food and drink options. A good choice for groups, families and corporate events. Advance booking is recommended, especially for karting and larger groups.
The Dons were promoted in 2026 and now play soccer in League One, the third tier. They play at Stadium MK, capacity 30,000, two miles southeast of the railway station.
Billed as the country's "most popular" since 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.
Public skating rink. It's the home rink of MK Lightning, who play Sept-March in the National League, England's second tier. MK Thunder are their developmental team in the third tier, and MK Storm are their juniors.
Milton Keynes Bowl
Known for international artists, this amphitheatre regularly hosts live music events.
This is an excellent Chinese restaurant in the heart of the theatre district
This pub with a large room attached has a series of bands, comedy, open mics sessions and other acts every week. Voted the Best Live Music Pub in the South East 2011.
A 500-person capacity venue catering mainly for rock acts, large supporter of local music.
A 450-person capacity venue a few miles outside of Milton Keynes. It is focused on Jazz music but attracts many musicians of all genres.
City-based alternative promotion with a wide range of music from DJs to live bands.
Self-contained large annex. Max 4 people. 1 king bed and 1 sofa bed. Lounge, kitchen, bedroom and shower room.
First floor apartment for one or two people. Formerly part of the stable block of an old coaching inn, it has a comfortable king size bed, with ample storage space for clothes and shoes, a well stocked kitchenette, dining area, sitting room and even a desk and adjustable desk chair, shower room and toilet. There’s also central heating, a little wood burner, free-standing electric heaters, ‘cool towers’ for those hot summer nights, hair drier, towelling bathrobes and slippers, books, games, DVDs, CDs and USB electric sockets. Minimum two nights stay.
By bus
National Express services provide regular connections with coach services to many cities and regional airports, as well as larger ones such as Heathrow.
By car
Milton Keynes is on the M1 motorway and on the A5 trunk road. From London, Luton and the south, Milton Keynes can be accessed via junction 13.
By plane
London Luton Airport (LTN), 25 miles south via the M1. London Heathrow Airport (LHR), 55 miles south via the M1 and M25. London Stansted Airport (STN), 58 miles to the east via the A421 and A1.
Buses in Milton Keynes are frequent, and all estates are quite well covered. There are regular buses from most places to the city centre, train station, and Bletchley.
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