Central MK-The Hub Railway Station

Milton Keynes - Home

by Raunchy_Poet

"MK: Overview"

Milton Keynes is a new town, approx. 30 years old, 50 miles north of London.

Road layout is Roman: a grid system of parallel roads running roughly east-west ('H' roads - horizontal), intersecting with parallel roads roughly north-south ('V' roads - vertical). Each intersection is a roundabout, making it the roundabout 'capital' of Europe, because there are so many. We genuinely wear one side of our car tyres more than the other!

"Claims to fame"

Number 1: Cock & bull story

MK is the source of the expression 'cock & bull story'.

Stony Stratford (not to be confused with Shakespeare's Stratford) is one of the old villages incorporated within MK. It is on a main road from London northwards, the old roman road Watling Street, and was a watering place for the coach horses and passengers in those times. It has many pubs, along its high street. The main ones are The Cock and The Bull.

So, you tell your story in one pub, accompanied by drinks, then at another pub, etc. By the time you are done, it's become quite embellished. Hence, cock & bull story!

Number 2: Enigma

The film 'Enigma' features the wartime code-breaking at Bletchley Park, 5 minutes' drive from my house.

Number 3: The Open University

The 'OU' is a correspondence course-based degree-awarding university, using programmes broadcast late at night by the BBC. It is open to all ages, all backgrounds. The campus is also only 5 minutes from my house.

"MK: Website"

www.mkweb.co.uk

Gives you a taste of the place.