Location: Milton Keynes
Top Things to do in Milton Keynes
Top Restaurants in Milton Keynes
Countries
The 10 Best Free Things to do in Milton Keynes, England
Milton Keynes (/ˌmɪltən ˈkiːnz/ ( listen) MIL-tən KEENZ), locally abbreviated to MK, is a large town in the Borough of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, of which it is the administrative centre. It was formally designated as a new town on 23 January 1967, with the design brief to become a "city" in scale. It is located about 45 miles (72 km) north-west of London.
Restaurants in Milton Keynes
1. Electric Vehicle Experience Centre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 16 reviews
We’re the UK’s first brand neutral centre for electric vehicles and are based in centre:mk at the heart of Milton Keynes. Our aim is to provide unbiased, completely free education about electric vehicles, offering Milton Keynes residents and visitors the chance to head out on an experience drive with one of our talented Gurus.
2. The Eager Poet
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 128 reviews
A community pub with a great, value menu. Serving a variety of lagers, bottled beers, and a small variety of real ale. With also a wide selection of spirits on hand. We show all different sports daily and at weekends the big football games are to be enjoyed on all of our large screens live. Call to book or you can now book online via our app.
Reviewed By scottmC9083XC
Come in for lunch food was really well cooked was very nice we had the Hunters chicken toastie which was a very good size Chef Lyn did a great job also our server Lynn was great nothing was to much trouble always had a smile on her face
3. No.38 Vintage Emporium
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
This is a vintage emporium with over 45 different traders under one beautiful roof in this listed building. We have two floors of vintage loveliness including clothes, furniture, kitchenalia, ornaments, mirrors, pictures, handmade goods, jewellery, cushions, toys, soy candles and so much more all at affordable prices. We are your local stockist for Frenchic Furniture Paint, East of India and Heaven Sends. We support small vintage and handmade businesses by renting them space to showcase and sell their work. Looking for a beautiful piece of furniture, a gift, handmade jewellery or just fancy a browse? Please pop in to see us. We look forward to welcoming you here in the centre of Newport Pagnell High Street.
Reviewed By 784naomia
Lovely shop in Newport Pagnell with such a mix of things! Can always find something special in here and something you wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. Also, really well priced! I always love popping in here and seeing the new stock they have in.
4. Be At One Milton Keynes
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 254 reviews
Reviewed By gemmabe - Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom
Visited here for birthday cocktails for my fiance last night. Wow! We tried several different cocktails and they were all delicious! I'd particularly recommend the Apple Pie. The bar staff are all amazing - exceptionally talented and fun to watch! Although we've been to several Be at One bars and always had a great experience, this was our best yet. Excellent music choice, too :) TIPS: It's about a 10 minute walk from the train station or a fiver in a taxi that you might use an app to book, if the weather isn't being kind ;) There's a Jury's Inn Hotel next door if you're planning to make a night of it. Several nice restaurants in the Square it's situated in - Banana Tree is fab. We hear Turtle Bay is excellent, too.
5. Great Linford Manor Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15 reviews
A visit to the Manor Park at Great Linford gives a flavour of the 18th Century fashion for shaping the landscape. Its style and elegance have survived to this day, but the park is also full of attractions for modern-day visitors. In July 2016 we secured a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out development work for our project to Revive, Reveal and Restore Great Linford Manor Park.
6. Campbell Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 105 reviews
Located at the heart of Milton Keynes, Campbell Park hosts many of Milton Keynes’ major festivals and events. Its imaginative mix of formal gardens, water features, woodland and open pasture mean it’s an ideal spot to enjoy the changing seasons. At the top of park is a memorial to one of Milton Keynes’ founders, Lord 'Jock' Campbell of Eskan, reading 'If you seek his memorial look around'. A new piece of public art, the MK Rose, created by internationally renowned artist Gordon Young, was installed on the site of the former fountain and pond and officially launched in November 2013. Nearby, the Belvedere, offers views into Bedfordshire. Look out, too, for the labyrinth with a working sundial at its centre. Chain Reaction, the distinctive sculpture overlooking Campbell Park, celebrates all those who played a part in Milton Keynes’ creation. It is one of several artworks in the park which are also part of the Milton Keynes Art-walk.
Reviewed By ksenyae2020 - Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Love this park, always very clean, loads of benches to sit down, loads of activities and festivals in summer time
7. MK Biergarten
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24 reviews
We are Milton Keynes’ first micropub and bottle shop. We are multi award winning, support our local suppliers and are the friendliest business around! With a range of bottled and draft craft beer and cider both from the UK and further afield, the shop is the ideal destination for beer lovers who would like London's range and expertise in craft beer but are also looking for that little bit of northern hospitality. A cosy seating area provides a tasting space for 20 people and serves a fuive tap bar which also satisfies your growler needs. The shop runs regular events, including beer tastings and a monthly food night, which showcases local producers. In German beer culture, a Biergarten is a comfortable, friendly space where you can spend time on your own or with friends and family alike. It's a place where you meet strangers for a chat and watch the world go by. At the MK Biergarten, bookshelves and boardgames invite you to relax and play.
Reviewed By W2244TMdanielr
This is my favourite place in MK to go for a drink with friends. It has everything you need; -Friendly helpful staff with a huge knowledge of beer -A choice of drink for everyone (trust me, there’s a beer for the most fussiest of drinkers but also a selection of wines, ciders, artisan spirits and soft drinks) -Cosy ‘living room’ style seating area for people that prefer to enjoy a drink inside and outdoor seating that is sheltered from the rain in bad weather. -Spacious shop area to browse bottles and cans to take away -Incredible range of German beers, predominantly Munich styles to match the name of the establishment. -Most importantly for me, a strong focus on local produce and community spirit including monthly ‘Bier clubs’ (taster sessions with a selection of different style beers, usually following a different theme each month), a brilliant selection of local beers on the shelf and on tap, brewed by nearby businesses and small businesses all over the uk. Bread collection from a local artisan baker including traditional Bavarian pretzels available to buy at the bar with a pint of Munich lager, Chocolate collection from a local chocolatier, perfect for a sweet treat or a gift and many other community events including art clubs, gin clubs and occasional food events. I can’t rate this place enough! I also want to add that during the COVID-19 pandemic the business wasted no time in adapting all aspects and have reopened the pub/shop with government guidelines strictly in place and I can honestly say that they have managed to retain the cosy easygoing atmosphere whilst retaining a strict and safe place to enjoy an as-close-to-normal as possible experience that even the most nervous person would feel comfortable in. Well done MK Biergarten!
8. Church of Christ The Cornerstone
9. Caldecotte Lake
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 67 reviews
Reviewed By Gardenerrich - Sandown, United Kingdom
Another lovely walk around a lake, well actually 2 lakes, north and south. Took about hour and half to walk around and was very pleasant. Lots to see, plenty of wildlife. Obviously a popular place, even on a cold and windy day.
10. Ouse Valley Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 23 reviews
Reviewed By Y468WYpaulr - Wellingborough, United Kingdom
I was brought up in Old Stratford - a village at the far Western end of this nature reserve - and so am very familiar with the area. When you look at a map, it's hard to imagine that much could be done with the space remaining between roads, industry and housing developments at the fringe of the burgeoning new 'city' of Milton Keynes. So I was very pleasantly surprised by the extent and variety of this recently developed reserve. I had made brief visits to the floodplain area during the late summer and early Autumn. There are several comfortable hides set up to allow the best views of the visiting wildlife and, at that time, the series of small lakes and marshy areas were thronging with numerous kinds of waterfowl. Even at this time, there are numerous species of duck, moorhens, grebes, cormorants and swans. Helpful boards, erected in the hides, identify some of the wildlife you might spot. According to the boards, there is the possibility of spotting otters, too and I'm pretty sure water voles will be around as well. Lending an exotic feel to the landscape is the small herd of Konic horses - semi-wild horses from Poland, who have been introduced to maintain the floodplain environment by the action of their grazing. I could (and one day will) just sit in a hide for hours, watching the goings on. However, only ever to do that would be to miss out on the variety of interest the park has to offer. Last weekend I did a walk of around 10 miles from the park's carpark between Wolverton and Haversham, along the Ouse footpath on the Northern border, skirting Cosgrove Caravan park, to the Watling Street bridge at Old Stratford, looping around Stony Stratford by the Mill Field and back via Stony Stratford Nature Reserve and the floodplain area. As well as the obvious attractions of the beautiful river, old bridges and farms, wild plants birds and animals, cows, sheep and horses, there is a viaduct, an iron aqueduct supporting the canal (which you pass under by tunnel), and an old mill. If history interests you, these structures, not to mention the Roman road of Watling street and the market town of Stony Stratford are steeped the gills in it! Since Stony fell into the middle of my walk and, by cunning design, just around lunch time, I stopped in at this attractive and historic coaching town for a very pleasant snack at the Out of Office Coffee shop (there are many other pleasant eateries and pubs in town). I made my way back to the car, via the lakes of the floodplain area. All in all, it was the perfect country walk. Walking in the park is easy going. There are no challenging hills and paths are well maintained. The opportunities for varying your route or taking diversions are many. You could incorporate some of the towpath of the historic Grand-union canal, head off across sheep-grazing fields to the tiny, pretty village of passenham or head further inti the green corridors of MK via New Bradwell park, for instance. This park is great for solo walks but kids will find plenty of running and clambering opportunities and dogs patently love splashing in and out of some of the shallower stretches of the river. Congratulations to the people behind this excellent country park for their imagination, hard work and vision. Highly recommended.
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