More than roundabouts: Exploring Milton Keynes
Craft beer gems
For beer lovers, there are some craft gems in the city. We walked from our hotel to Blackened Sun Brewing, hidden on a large industrial estate. The set-up felt similar to local favourite Brewboard, and we immediately grabbed a pint and a keg to sit on in the sunshine. I loved chatting to the passionate owners and, although it was packed with regulars, we felt more than welcome as newcomers!
MK Biergarten was next on our improvised craft beer crawl, located further into the city. This bottle shop and bar offered a variety of local brews in cans and on top, alongside brands from further afield. I loved the cosy ambience, with chunky Chesterfield sofas, plywood tables and plenty of plants. It was the perfect spot to while away a few hours with a sour in hand.
Delicious dining
Next door to MK Biergarten was our choice of dinner for the evening, Ole Tapas. This little gem prides itself on its combination of traditional Spanish dishes with local produce. We managed to bag the last table for the evening – so make sure you book ahead!
Whenever I travel, I want to try as much as possible so tapas is one of my favourite dining options. The Ole Tapas menu offered something for everyone with a huge variety of meat, fish and vegetable dishes – think locally grown allotment treats, tempura fried chorizo and black pudding bites.
Other options which we didn’t have time to try included Made in Sud pizzeria, Akasaka sushi and a meat-lovers dream The Carrington Arms. Milton Keynes local Sophie Etc has lots of helpful reviews on her blog for further inspiration.
A great night’s sleep
The Novotel brand is one of my favourites; spotless rooms, great customer service and brilliant breakfast. They also tend to have more facilities than other chain hotels, and the Novotel Milton Keynes branch featured a swimming pool, coffee machine in our room and a huge, comfortable bed. The customer service was excellent and I always feel so comfortable and at home whenever I visit a Novotel – and this was no exception.
Location wise, the Novotel was perfectly places for exploring the area. I was pleasantly surprised by how walkable and green Milton Keynes is. A left turn outside the hotel led us immediately to an offroad footpath through woods and parks, without a car (or roundabout!) in sight. Large dual carraigeways all offered an alternative pedestrian route either over or under the traffic. What a difference it makes when a town is designed with walking in mind!
Groundbreaking history
What history could a town designed in 1967 have? Lots, thanks to its older neighbour – Bletchley Park. The home of the codebreakers was just a 10 minute drive from Novotel Milton Keynes, so after a hearty full English on Sunday morning, we headed to explore this historic location. The genius of Bletchley Park is how it manages to appeal to such a broad range of interest and knowledge. Whether you are a young child or a fully-fledged engineer – or, like me, someone with an interest in the historical side but no understanding of the coding side – there is something to discover and learn. I particularly enjoyed the recent addition of The Intelligence Factory exhibition. This brings to life the day to day experiences of those working at Bletchley Park, and cleverly conveys the scale of the operation during WW2, through fascinating personal stories.
Have I inspired you to visit Milton Keynes?
