The idea of "Milton
Keynes" came about in the 1960's....Well 1967 to be exact. The reason for it was to try and help housing
congestion from all over the London area as the overspill of this had been
going on from the 1950's into Bletchley, which of course became very over populated. Bletchley was one of the pre-existing towns
along with Stony Stratford and Wolverton, which still exist today - These areas
still have some character housing along with one off unique shops, a kind of
high street shopping as it used to be, whereas Milton Keynes has a very modern
urban feel with new housing, a big shopping center and lots of social and
leisure activities.
The location that is now
known as "Milton Keynes" was picked due to the large surface area,
the fact that it was in the South East and it has very easy access to the A5
and M1 so if you need either, you can be on the road in minutes.
One of the very long running
funnies is the numerous roundabouts in Milton Keynes, but it means you cannot
get lost, and if should take a wrong turn on one of the many H and V roads you
can ALWAYS turn around!.
The road plan was based on
the American grid system and I have to say makes life very easy, and really
takes no time at all to master. It also
has what is known as the "Redways" for any cyclists, which is great
as moving traffic can be vast and at a speed and MK as its all duel carriage
ways. One very big plus when driving in
Milton Keynes is that there is never a rush hour! There is also a mainline train station that
will take you into London and also to various destinations "up
north".
Unfortunately Milton Keynes
has yet to be granted "City" status even though it has applied and
tried tremendously hard three times in 2000, 2002 and 2012. To locals and beyond it is branded as a
"City" and certainly has that feel to any of us that are lucky enough
to live here or visit.
Before the city of Milton
Keynes was created, it was just a large area of farmland with small towns and
villages in the surrounding areas, such as Bletchley, Wolverton, Stony
Stratford, Milton Keynes Village, Woburn Sands and Newport Pagnell. These areas during the 60's were home to some
40,000+ people, which is hard to imagine knowing these areas. It is home to Bletchley Park, which is the
site of World War II Code Breaking Enigma Machine, which has had films and
books written about it.
Milton Keynes is a lovely
place and appeals to all. It uniquely
has a city vibe but it also has various lakes for cycling and water sports, it
has an indoor snow dome, it has an open air cinema in the summer, it has lots
of green areas for walking, it boasts areas such as Stony and Woburn if you
feel the urge for a coffee and a bit of gift shopping, its home to a big cinema
along with numerous restaurants, so much so that you go try a new one every
night. There are also areas that are
home to "village" type pubs that are also very nice especially the
few that are on the water, which is a lovely thing during the summer. There is a theatre, which has been in use since
1999 and is very very popular with locals and actually beyond.
It is of course home to The
National Bowl, which has held concerts from many big bands over the years, most
recently Swedish House Mafia, The Kings of Leon and Pearl Jam. We are also home to MK Lightning, Red Bull
Racing and probably even more well-known "The MK Dons".
For a new city there
certainly is still some history behind it and it’s a great place to spend time,
be it socially, professionally or permanently!.
This article was written by Alicia Djukic for the Milton Keynes Business Directory
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