Events in the Park
City Parks always support a range of activities and interests. Botanists study flora, joggers keep fit, kites are flown, dogs walked, cricketers bat, and bands play. While there is not a traditional Victorian-style bandstand in Campbell Park, the events area in the southwest corner includes the ‘grass bowl at the upper level for events’ from the original plan.
Image 1: The Events Area from the MKDC 1986 development plan (© Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Crown Copyright.
This space, and the cultural programme it supports around the whole park, has since been developed into a vibrant venue, helped by the creation of a permanent stage in 2012. Residents and visitors have been able to attend festivals, concerts, plays, circuses, dance shows, charity runs , fireworks and funfairs. The space has been host to international sporting events such as the UCI World Cup Cyclo-cross in 2014, a Rugby World Cup Fanzone in 2015 and welcomed royalty with Prince William's visit for the city's 50th birthday in 2017. The 2021 review further explores how the park could develop into the 21st Century with a new pavilion, a cafe, and a sustainable future.
Image 2: An early music event in Campbell Park (Living Archive: 040).
Campbell Park hosts many events, as Julie Dawes, The Parks Trust events and community engagement manager explains.
The cricket pitch at Campbell Park has hosted international and county matches. A 2021 review of the park appreciates the design: Cutting into the ridge slope to create terracing and a viewing amphitheatre was an inspired idea. The earth sculpting nestled the pitch into the natural landform and provides a visual reference to the sculpted landform designs of the upper areas of the park.” (Hiorns, R., Parks Trust, unpublished)
Image 3: Cricket Ground as drawn in MKDC 1986 development plan (© Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Crown Copyright.
Cricket bats are no longer made from willow trees planted around the pitch but continue to be harvested from plantations across the parks. A limited edition Gunn & Moore Maestro cricket bat, handcrafted in 1988, is displayed in the pavilion. It is made from a Milton Keynes English Cricket Bat Willow tree (Salix Coerulea) planted by MKDC in 1973.
Image 4: Cricket in the park (Living Archive)
Follow the Campbell Park Trail to discover the history of this Grade II listed landscape. Featuring archive photos and videos with the people who helped make the park what it is today.
