"Help" "I'm being chased!"
2:42am, 29th May 2024 | 7 Comments
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"Help" "I'm being chased!"
A frantic call from my virtual self - something about needing to keep their gold star, they needed to escape a dragon and get to Willen Lake by Tuesday evening.
All I had to do was give them a 5k tour of the city, the only rule being that we had to follow a prescribed red line from my phantom self's current location to the the lake.
I jumped at the chance, although I have at various times worked in the area, I hadn't walked through the centre of Milton Keynes for a long time and it would be a good opportunity to walk with someone who walks at a very similar pace to myself!
My virtual self sent their selfie to show their location, although to be honest they are a bit tricky to see on this picture.
We met up and had a quick shake of hands. To avoid any confusion, I'm the one on the right
And so began a fun and eye-opening trip through Central MK. What started off just as a bit of Fetch fun was a bit of a trip down memory lane but I also learned a lot about local sculptures. So as ever Fetch, thanks for giving me the reason to do something that I wouldn't have otherwise done! And if you want a tour of Milton Keynes, then read on!
"It's not all about the famous concrete cows" I said. Not sure if he heard, it was confusing, I just felt like I was talking to myself!
First bit of sculpture was this "MK Menhir" - Apparently a 1:1 replica of a standing sarsen stone from the Avebury stone circle. I must admit not something I had noticed before.
Next was the shopping centre "Midsummer Place". The route goes straight through the shopping centre and the good news being that with the dragon making their move at midnight, they may well get stuck here as the doors close at 8pm!
A quick visit to local tourist attraction, the Upside Down House
where you literally can walk on the ceiling!
And the another piece of sculpture.
‘Sitting on History’ was originally designed for an exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London in 1996. Bill Woodrow’s idea was to create a sculpture that functioned as a seat and was only complete when someone sat on it.
‘Sitting on History’, with its ball and chain, refers to the book as captor of information from which we cannot escape. History is filtered through millions of pages of writing, making the book the major vehicle for years of research and study. Woodrow proposes that although we absorb this knowledge, we appear to have great difficulty in changing our behaviour as a result.
Back outside we passed "The Point". As you'll probably realise, this is a 70 foot high mirrored crystal ziggurat within a bright red steel exposed lattice pyramid frame but back in the mid-90's it was a popular place to go with a 10-screen cinema. It looks a bit sad now though.
On the forum, there had been some comments from those who had passed through the area earlier about the exotic sounding "Boulevards" of Milton Keynes and I'm sure you'll agree they don't come more exotic than Midsummer Boulevard"
As we left the built up area and entered Campbell Park, the clouds were darkening , you could sense that the dragon was gaining on us. However the clouds did help create a dramatic photo at the "Milton Keynes Rose". Created by internationally renowned artist Gordon Young in 2014, the Milton Keynes Rose is an open-air circle with markings based on the mathematical beauty of a flower. Upon installation 106 granite pillars of varying heights were mounted in positions to create the art piece. 68 pillars have been engraved with dedications, leaving 38 for future inscriptions.
And soon after, the Light Pyramid. This was first lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 4th June 2012 and is still lit to commemorate special local and national events.
Campbell Park was awarded Grade II status by Historic England in August 2020 due to its historic interest and innovative architectural design. Campbell Park is one of the largest parks to be laid out in England in the 20th and 21st Century. It was looking quite splendid in the evening light.
At the far end of the Park we crossed the Grand Union Canal, which as you may well know is the longest canal in the UK, linking London with Birmingham.
A few steps further and you are looking at the 1st few hundred metres of Milton Keynes parkrun. Stand here at 9:02am and you would get trampled by about 700 runners and walkers.
About this time my virtual self was getting tired and you can see him taking advantage of a local scooter!
Willen Lake has become a lot busier in recent years with plenty to do including this Big Wheel.
This years virtual route is a bit of a pilgrimage, as this spot marks the 1st steps where I 1st ran at a running event (If we ignore the school 100m!). This spot is where Milton Keynes parkrun used to start back in 2011 when I started running.
Along the lakeshore a man was feeding seed to the geese, It was amazing how tame they were.
Ando so we came to the end of our walk alongside the picturesque lake
and reached the very quiet checkpoint. My virtual self was trying to be quite serious at this point but to
be honest you could see right through him!
As he headed towards Fetch HQ in Bedford, I set off to buy a pizza.
Just to repeat my thanks to Fetch, it was a great evening and once again something I wouldn't have bothered to do without the incentive of the various games/challenges of the Fetch site. And for those of you who haven't reached CP4 yet, hopefully this gives you a feel for the sights that you have in store for you.
A frantic call from my virtual self - something about needing to keep their gold star, they needed to escape a dragon and get to Willen Lake by Tuesday evening.
All I had to do was give them a 5k tour of the city, the only rule being that we had to follow a prescribed red line from my phantom self's current location to the the lake.
I jumped at the chance, although I have at various times worked in the area, I hadn't walked through the centre of Milton Keynes for a long time and it would be a good opportunity to walk with someone who walks at a very similar pace to myself!
My virtual self sent their selfie to show their location, although to be honest they are a bit tricky to see on this picture.
We met up and had a quick shake of hands. To avoid any confusion, I'm the one on the right
And so began a fun and eye-opening trip through Central MK. What started off just as a bit of Fetch fun was a bit of a trip down memory lane but I also learned a lot about local sculptures. So as ever Fetch, thanks for giving me the reason to do something that I wouldn't have otherwise done! And if you want a tour of Milton Keynes, then read on!
"It's not all about the famous concrete cows" I said. Not sure if he heard, it was confusing, I just felt like I was talking to myself!
First bit of sculpture was this "MK Menhir" - Apparently a 1:1 replica of a standing sarsen stone from the Avebury stone circle. I must admit not something I had noticed before.
Next was the shopping centre "Midsummer Place". The route goes straight through the shopping centre and the good news being that with the dragon making their move at midnight, they may well get stuck here as the doors close at 8pm!
A quick visit to local tourist attraction, the Upside Down House
where you literally can walk on the ceiling!
And the another piece of sculpture.
‘Sitting on History’ was originally designed for an exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London in 1996. Bill Woodrow’s idea was to create a sculpture that functioned as a seat and was only complete when someone sat on it.
‘Sitting on History’, with its ball and chain, refers to the book as captor of information from which we cannot escape. History is filtered through millions of pages of writing, making the book the major vehicle for years of research and study. Woodrow proposes that although we absorb this knowledge, we appear to have great difficulty in changing our behaviour as a result.
Back outside we passed "The Point". As you'll probably realise, this is a 70 foot high mirrored crystal ziggurat within a bright red steel exposed lattice pyramid frame but back in the mid-90's it was a popular place to go with a 10-screen cinema. It looks a bit sad now though.
On the forum, there had been some comments from those who had passed through the area earlier about the exotic sounding "Boulevards" of Milton Keynes and I'm sure you'll agree they don't come more exotic than Midsummer Boulevard"
As we left the built up area and entered Campbell Park, the clouds were darkening , you could sense that the dragon was gaining on us. However the clouds did help create a dramatic photo at the "Milton Keynes Rose". Created by internationally renowned artist Gordon Young in 2014, the Milton Keynes Rose is an open-air circle with markings based on the mathematical beauty of a flower. Upon installation 106 granite pillars of varying heights were mounted in positions to create the art piece. 68 pillars have been engraved with dedications, leaving 38 for future inscriptions.
And soon after, the Light Pyramid. This was first lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 4th June 2012 and is still lit to commemorate special local and national events.
Campbell Park was awarded Grade II status by Historic England in August 2020 due to its historic interest and innovative architectural design. Campbell Park is one of the largest parks to be laid out in England in the 20th and 21st Century. It was looking quite splendid in the evening light.
At the far end of the Park we crossed the Grand Union Canal, which as you may well know is the longest canal in the UK, linking London with Birmingham.
A few steps further and you are looking at the 1st few hundred metres of Milton Keynes parkrun. Stand here at 9:02am and you would get trampled by about 700 runners and walkers.
About this time my virtual self was getting tired and you can see him taking advantage of a local scooter!
Willen Lake has become a lot busier in recent years with plenty to do including this Big Wheel.
This years virtual route is a bit of a pilgrimage, as this spot marks the 1st steps where I 1st ran at a running event (If we ignore the school 100m!). This spot is where Milton Keynes parkrun used to start back in 2011 when I started running.
Along the lakeshore a man was feeding seed to the geese, It was amazing how tame they were.
Ando so we came to the end of our walk alongside the picturesque lake
and reached the very quiet checkpoint. My virtual self was trying to be quite serious at this point but to
be honest you could see right through him!
As he headed towards Fetch HQ in Bedford, I set off to buy a pizza.
Just to repeat my thanks to Fetch, it was a great evening and once again something I wouldn't have bothered to do without the incentive of the various games/challenges of the Fetch site. And for those of you who haven't reached CP4 yet, hopefully this gives you a feel for the sights that you have in store for you.
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