Milton Keynes: Things To Do And See When You Visit Milton Keynes

The new town of Milton Keynes (or actually new city, to be more correct) is easy to get to, around 45 miles north west of London and within easy reach of both Oxford and Cambridge.

When the city was designed, it was laid out on a grid system. Which makes navigating your way around the city very easy, if slightly boring compared with the usual road layout in towns across most of the rest of England. The town also boasts green side with a wide network of cycleways - these follow quite leisurely routes, so you could keep fit whilst you explore the city if the mood takes you.

Whether you are visiting Milton Keynes socially or as part of a business trip, there are lots of things to see and do.

Music fans will want to make sure that their trip coincides with a concert at the open air Milton Keynes National Bowl. This former clay pit has been turned into a large amphitheatre which can hold up to 65, 000 concert goers. The hall of fame of artists who have played the venue includes David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Placebo and even the heavy metal bands Megadeth and Metallica.

Shoppers will be delighted at the shopping malls that make up part of the centre of the city. Because Milton Keynes has been "zoned" from the outset, you'll find the facilities are much more logically distributed here than they are in the rest of the UK. This makes finding the particular store you want easy but takes out some of the surprise finds that are associated with many of England's other towns.

Despite the relatively flat nature of the surrounding landscape, the city boasts its own indoor ski slope complete with real snow rather than the artificial surfaces that most English ski slopes have to make do with. The set of Xscape buildings has a striking design - you're sure to be able to spot them! If you are more adventurous, the building is also home to an indoor skydiving centre.

Eating and drinking is well catered for. The Theatre District has plenty of places to eat before or after the shows. Or, of course, during them if you prefer not to watch a play.

Many of the city's restaurants are part of national chains but you can find smaller, independent places to eat in the nearby villages of Stony Stratford, Fenny Stratford and others. These are also home to some of the city's more lively and crowded pubs. The more traditional drinking establishments can be found in places such as Stony Stratford high street.

As you would expect, there is a wide choice places to stay in Milton Keynes. Although with such a modern city, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that it is still perfectly possible to find smaller bed and breakfasts as well as the more usual large hotels.

Depending on the direction you approach the city from, you may well get to see the famous "concrete cows". Which are actually not mainly made of concrete - they were primarily assembled from lots of scraps and then encased in concrete that was reinforced with fibre glass. As is to be expected from any modern sculpture, the set of three concrete cows and their three calves attract a mixed reaction and at times have attracted graffiti and vandalism.