Stroll Through

The Ouse Valley Park lies in the floodplain of the river Great Ouse which flows from north Oxfordshire to The Wash at Kings Lynn. It has the most rural atmosphere of all the city's parks, and most of it is grazed, some of it with the assistance of Countryside Stewardship grant-aid. It is great for walking or a day out with the kids and a picnic. There are surfaced paths leading through the valley and alongside the river connecting the Millfield at Stony Stratford to New Bradwell in the north of Milton Keynes. There are also paths connecting back into the nearby housing areas.


Old parkland trees, meadows, hedgerows and new plantations provide refuges for wildlife. Brightly coloured kingfishers and unobtrusive little grebes frequent the river. Many dragonflies can be seen in the summer, including dozens of strikingly patterned banded demoiselles. The presence of a small population of white-legged damselflies near the Iron Trunk Aqueduct indicates that the river is comparatively free of pollution.

The Ouse Valley Park now forms part of the UK's newest long-distance walk, the Ouse Valley Way. And it is set to become an even richer site for human and wildlife interest with the re-creation, at the park's eastern end, of ancient floodplain forest landscapeFloodplain Forest .

Pollarded willows
The strangely shaped willows are a distinctive feature along the river valley, and are a relic of an ancient system of caring for trees in grazing land. Initially a willow is cut about 2.5 metres (8 feet) above the ground level to prevent grazing animals eating the new shoots. A regularly pollarded tree can survive for centuries and a continuous supply of small timber was maintained by cutting such trees approximately every ten years and allowing them to re-grow. If however they are allowed to grow indefinitely, the new branches become top heavy and split off and the tree may even die. Mature pollarded willows are very valuable for wildlife.

Wildlife Conservation Area
The Wildlife Conservation Area provides a variety of artificially created wetland habitats especially for waterfowl and waders. The reserve may be viewed from the footpaths or the public bird hide. It was created from gravel workings to supply materials for the building of the A5 Trunk Road during 1977-1980.

The smaller Wolverton Mill lake to the south of Stratford Road is also artificial and is one of a series of city-wide balancing lakes, constructed during the development of Milton Keynes to hold sudden increases in rainwater run-off from the built up areas.

Oldest Wolverton
The bumps and hollows in the fields at Old Wolverton, on either side of the canal, are all that remains of Wolverton medieval village. The large mound next to Holy Trinity Church marks the site of Wolverton Castle which was built around 1100 by the de Wolverton family who made it the centre of their extensive estates. It consisted of an earth mound (Motte) topped with a timber tower and a courtyard (bailey), defended by a bank topped with a timber palisade. Inside the bailey space had to be found for the living accommodation, stores, barns and stables.

Manor Farm
The earliest buildings of Manor Farm date from the 17th century but most of the farm was rebuilt in the early part of the 19th century. The house is on the site of a large medieval grange, a monastic farm established here by the Oxfordshire Priory of Clattercote. To breathe new life into these important buildings they have recently been converted into both apartments and prestige business units. Rental from the business units goes directly into funding the upkeep of Milton Keynes parks.

Water mills in the park
Water-mills have been a feature of this river valley since at least Domesday (1086). Those by the Ouse at Millfield, Stony Stratford and at Wolverton Mill would have been extended or rebuilt many times over the centuries. Stratford Mill showed evidence of the last six phases of rebuilding before it was destroyed by fire in 1985. Its millrace is now dammed and practically static, providing a quiet nesting place for coots and moorhens. In summer, spotted flycatchers may be seen catching flies from conspicuous perches in the tall trees along the waterside. Fish, especially roach and perch, are abundant and angling is popular. The last mill at Wolverton was built in the late 18th century and is now used privately as a farm building. The millrace here is a quiet backwater lined by huge hybrid black old poplars and willows. Lesser spotted woodpeckers can sometimes be seen in the tree tops.

The Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal, or Grand Junction Canal as it was called until 1929, was built between 1793 and 1805 to link London with the industrial Midlands and the North. A wide range of goods was carried by horse-drawn narrowboats during its industrial heyday. One of the last sections to be completed was the crossing of the River Ouse at Wolverton. This required the construction of the Iron Trunk Aqueduct, a spectacular structure that spans the river at a height of 10.8 metres. The canal is no longer an industrial link but is a popular pleasure boating and walking route. Areas of scrub and marsh beside the canal form a good wildlife area, with breeding moorhens, and a variety of song birds. Herons and Kingfishers are often seen in summer, when butterflies feed in the shelter of the thorn hedges and colourful dragonflies fly above the water.

The coming of the railway in the 1830s marked the beginning of a prosperous era in Wolverton: the population increasing from 417 to 2,370 within 30 years. There was fierce opposition to the railway from the Grand Junction Canal Company which was concerned that it would take freight trade away from the canal. Disputes, sabotage and landslides caused great problems during the construction of the 2.5 kilometre long railway embankment and the viaduct at the eastern end of the park, but they were finally completed in 1838.


For your safety and enjoyment, and that of others:

• You are welcome to walk anywhere in the park but motor cars and motor cycles are not permitted beyond the car parks.
  
  
• Picnic tables and seats have been provided ¡V please help to keep the park tidy and the water unpolluted by taking your litter home.
  
  
• Take care not to damage plants or trees.
  
  
• Take care not to disturb wildlife. Make sure that your dog is under proper control at all times, preferably on a lead. Please use a "Poop-Scoop" for your pet..
  
  
• Pedestrians have priority on leisure routes but cyclists are welcomed.
  
  
• Swimming is dangerous and not allowed in any of the City's lakes and rivers or the Canal

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