We woke on our anniversary to a lovely morning and exchanged cards and thought how lovely our mooring was, especially so close to Milton Keynes.
Already we are about halfway through our trip so we looked at the map to decide how much further we could get and where we could turn. Needless to say with a 48 foot boat and a canal that’s 30-40 foot wide, you can’t turn round just anywhere! We needed a winding hole (pronounced win-ding) which is a ‘notch’ or specially widened area made for turning. We saw the best one would be 2 miles ahead, just short of Campbell Park in Milton Keynes, otherwise we would need to travel another 45 minutes (and back) so it was important we didn’t overshoot it!
Chris did a grand job, waiting till other boats had passed, heading the bow into the notch and swinging the stern round.
We then moored up across from the noisiest stretch of canal so far …
… and walked to Campbell Park, a huge rectangular green space in the centre of the city, edged by the canal on one side and containing a cricket arena and full of autumn colour.
The Belvedere rises in the centre and offers views across Bedfordshire and there is a wild flower meadow in the middle which is apparently grazed by sheep in the summer! The original vision was that the park would also be the cultural centre of the city and there are a number of works of art and sculptures throughout, the most prominent being the Light Pyramid which replaced the original basket beacon which was destroyed by lightening. It is made of steel and painted white and was first lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 4th June 2012 and is still lit to commemorate special local and national events.
The Milton Keynes Rose is a commemorative public space featuring a calendar of days important to the people of Milton Keynes. Pillars are arranged like a flower, many already inscribed and others left for future dedications.
Other pieces include Head …
… Gnomon or Shadow Castor made of Ffestiniog blue grey slate and bronze which casts its shadow just like the arm of a sundial it is named for … but Chris keenly pointed out it is by the cricket pitch and represents wickets and a ball … surely I had realised that … but I hadn’t!
… Onwards and Upwards, carved from a single piece of eight-metre-high sweet chestnut and representing the growth and development of the park and the city …
… Cave, supposedly offering shelter in the park, but not much as it doesn’t really have a roof …
… Chain Reaction, a 3D model of figures balanced like acrobats, in an endless chain which changes as it is viewed from different angles …
… and Armillary Sphere in the centre of the Labyrinth to celebrate the 10th anniversary of MK Housing Association.
Chris was intrigued by this plaque, confused by the seemingly incorrect distances …
… until I pointed out this post!
We returned to the boat for lunch …
… before beginning our return trip. We barely had to stop at Fenny Stratford Lock with its Swing Bridge as it was in our favour and open. We went through with another boat, and another boat was waiting so we didn’t even need to close it, quite a contrast to the day before! Before we knew it, we were back at Waterhall Park, where we had stopped for lunch the day before and moored up after covering exactly 6 miles for the day.
The sun came out when I made the tea, so we sat on the bow, admiring the canal.
Later we celebrated our anniversary with a bottle of fizz and a very delicious White Chilli made from a Simon Rimmer recipe which I’d brought with us frozen, served with greens, grated cheddar and tortilla chips!
We played several hands of Uno and Chris was pleased to reign once more as Uno Champ!
Maps
Off Travelling Together 