Stanton Low Park
A canalside park full of history with fantastic play facilities.
Facilities
About Stanton Low Park
Despite being one of the newer parks in Milton Keynes, Stanton Low is rich in heritage. The park is situated in North East Milton Keynes and is just a short walk away from Great Linford Manor Park. The area offers incredible views across the valley of the River Great Ouse.
The area of Stanton Low is fantastic for discovering local history. Towards the north-west corner of the park lies the below-ground remains of the former Stantonbury Manor. The site of this 17th Century manor house can be seen in a number of substantial earthworks that provided features of interest in the garden of what would have been a very impressive property before the house it was damaged by fire in 1743 and eventually demolished in 1791.
Next to the site of the Manor lie the above-ground remains of St Peter’s Church. A church is believed to have stood on this site for more than 1,000 years and parts of old church walls that still stand today date at least as far back as the 12th Century.
The land at Stanton Low was used for livestock grazing for many centuries. After farming ceased in 2007, much of the pastureland developed into meadows and ‘rough’ grassland habitat that are of great value for birds, insects and small mammals like voles and shrews.
Visit the site on a summer evening at twilight and you may be lucky and see a Barn Owl silently gliding over the grassland hunting for prey or in autumn, flocks of finches feeding on the seeds of plants like teasel and hogweed. The Parks Trust manages these fields through a combination of carefully controlled cutting and livestock grazing, leaving some areas uncut each year to provide continuous cover for wildlife.
Joan’s Piece is an area of plantation woodland on the west side of the canal overlooking Bradwell Lake. It was originally leased to the Woodland Trust by the Borough Council of Milton Keynes in 1987 as bare land suitable for planting, before The Parks Trust took over management in 2016. The woodland was planted on top of an existing refuse site and can only be accessed by the canal towpath on the west side. There is a woodchip path around Joan’s Piece, which features a mixture of ash, alder, field maple, cherry and willow trees, as well as blackthorn and bramble scrub.
Argued as one of the best play areas in Milton Keynes, the play area at Stanton Low is located in the estate of Oakridge Park, for visitors to the estate there is convenient parking located just off Newport road. What3Words location workbench.lease.orange.
The play area has a great range of equipment for all age groups. The large zipline is the main attraction to this site but there are toddler and flat swings, climbing structures with slides, a seesaw, a basket swing, a shelter for meeting friends, and even some playhouses, wooden tractor and farm animals for toddlers.
Located right next to the main play area at What3Words location digital.mammals.convinces you will find a BMX track. The track is best suited to pedal bikes and not mini scooters due to the gravel type surface of the track. There is a good mix of hills and dips on the one way course, with smaller loops for those who are building on their skills.
Please do not use motorised bikes, quadbikes or remote control cars on the track.
During your visit, don't forget to explore the remains of St Peters Church and remnants of a walled graveyard date back to the 12th century. Along with Stantonbury manor they make up part of the history of Milton Keynes.
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