Letting off steam near Milton Keynes for a long journey?

[PatCandlestick]

I'm doing a journey from Andover to Huntingdon and need a stop off point to let DC (7 and 4) let a bit of energy out.

Ideally it would be about 60-90 mins from Huntingdon, so it looks like somewhere near Milton Keynes would be good, but can also do nearer our start as will also do something on the way back.

We only want to be there for about 1-2 hours max, so thinking a forestry England type place, minimal cost, an interesting walk and playground with a cafe kind of thing. We don't want somewhere that would be a big day out like Gullivers. Or maybe a really good soft play that might be different from our usual ones? Or a small, low cost farm? Happy to pay parking or a small entrance fee but don't want to pay loads as we won't be there for long.

Any suggestions please?

Are you doing the M1? Stockwood Discovery Centre (just a bit further down in Luton) is one of our favourites, free entry/car parking, just off the motorway, lots of outdoor space/playground/gardens/exhibits/things to do. You could easily spend the whole day there but it’s not necessary, I’ve often gone for a few hours if it fits in with our day.

Only problem is it’s not open every day! So depends what time/day you’ll want to stop off. It’s 11am-5pm Tues-Sun.

Riverside Hub in Northampton if it works on your route….the biggest and arguably best soft play in the country. Highly recommend!

Salcey Forest between MK and Northampton would
work.

Willen Lake in MK?

Have I googlemapped this wrong? It’s a 134 mile drive?

Gullivers travels, willen lake, caldicotte lake

Great minds…..I came on here to say Salcey Forest x

Another one about to suggest Salcey !

Rookery Open Farm in Stoke Bruerne - near Towcester, between MK and Northampton.

Thanks, that sounds great. Think we might do M40 rather than M1 to avoid M25 though, but a good option if the M1 looks better on the day.

Salcey forest and Willen and Caldicotte lakes look great.

This is a bit pricey but does look fantastic, so could be the perfect rainy day option.

Bletchley Park has got a surprisingly good playground!

Looks lovely, a bit more than I was wanting to pay for a short stop though.

Willen lake would be perfect.
But that journey is only a couple of hours.

That's right. Hence not wanting to do it straight through without stopping!

Stanton Low Park | The Parks Trust https://share.google/tWjxsw3KHgeEkiUtI this is amazing - discovered it while on a canal boating holiday.

Salcey Forest is great and Riverside Hub is an amazing soft play. Also worth looking at Stoke Bruene for a nice canal walk

If you took the other route you could do Woburn Deer Park and I think you can actually walk a full loop around the safari park so you could choose a section of that to walk and see if you can spot any animals

If you’re coming up the M40, Millets Farm has a very popular soft play. Similarly if you’ve got national trust memberships, Waddesdon has a brilliant new playground. These aren’t quite as far as MK but on the route or a short detour.

It’s 2.5 hours on a motorway? Surely ten minutes at a services is enough? Stopping for 1-2 hours on a 2.5 hr journey seems excessive.

If you're going north rather than via the M25, Bicester is pretty much half way between the two - there's a playground at Bicester shopping village, and you could grab a wee and a coffee there too. It's not a very long journey, so presumably you don't want to double it with a long stop somewhere you need to pay a bunch of money?

Helpful, thanks.

Don’t know that area, but I always jump on the National Trust and English Heritage websites to see what they have en route when we want a break on a long drive. Even if you do t visit the stately home, you can stretch legs in the garden and grab a scone and pot of tea.

Would Stanwick Lakes work? It’s fab - amazing playground and walks too

Well they’ve got a point, 2.5 hours is hardly a trek.