Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At the start of New Bradwell, a Victorian railway workers' town, is the Grafton Street
aqueduct of 1991, the first new aqueduct in England for 50 years and one of the most com-
plicated pieces of civil engineering in Milton Keynes. Near it is an 1803 sandstone smock
windmill, sited by the canal authorities for transport purposes, used until 1871 and now re-
stored. An 1858 church by Street contains Victorian stained glass but a Norman chancel arch
comes from a ruined church in Stantonbury. There are also the remains of Bradwell Abbey,
founded in 1154 by the Benedictines.
After Newport Pagnell Road bridge, its abutments spray painted with bright butterfly mur-
als, the canal is back in farmland.
The canal turns sharply under a former railway bridge and passes the 14th century St
Andrew's church in yellow stone with a 12th century tower, Georgian box pews and fine 19th
century stained glass. The late 17th century limestone Linford Manor, with Greek temple,
almshouses with Flemish gables, two-storey school section and farm buildings, has become
the Courtyard arts centre with pottery, jewellery and silversmithing.
The Newport Pagnell Canal served marble quarries from 1817 to 1864, became the New-
port Nobby Railway until 1967 and is now the Railway Walk with nature reserve. An old
bridge was retained after residents protested against its demolition. The old Wharf Inn at Lin-
ford Wharf has become a private house.
By Gulliver's Land and Willen Lake in its 1.1 km
2
park are the first Buddhist peace pagoda
in the West and St Mary Magdalen, the only Wren church outside London. This reach is the
starting point for the proposed Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway. At 32km long, a broad
canal, it will connect the canal network with the East Anglian rivers and will be the longest
new canal in Britain for over a century. However, previous attempts in 1811 and 1892 failed
and success is not assured this time.
One of the surprising things about Milton Keynes is its name. Rather than being called
after Bletchley, Wolverton or one of the towns it incorporated, Milton Keynes uses the name
of a village that manages to retain clear space between itself and the new town, standing on
the far side of the River Ouzel or Lovat, the valley of which the canal is now to ascend.
The Old Swan Inn at Woughton on the Green was used by Dick Turpin and his ghost has
often been seen on his horse, Black Bess. One night, while being pursued, he apparently
quickly reshod his horse with the shoes on backwards to fool his pursuers. Assuming he had
the tools and noise was not an issue, how long does it take to reshoe a horse? Would such an
experimental procedure be the best use of that time unless the pursuers were so far away that
a more leisurely departure could have been made?
Woughton Park and Walton Hall have been home of the Open University since it was set
up in the 1960s to provide correspondence courses for those not able to attend full-time study
at university.
