Ashland Lakes in Ashland, Milton Keynes are among the lesser known lakes in MK. It’s free to visit there and free to park. They’re smaller than those at Willen at Caldecotte, but big enough for a walk or scoot with young children with a wonderful wooden sculpture along the way around. We visited in May 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic at a time where children were not allowed on play equipment but we were allowed to have unlimited exercise. This is one of the local walks in and around Milton Keynes we went on during that time. We were out for about 2 hours – so this would most appeal to those local to the area.
Where are Ashland Lakes and are there any facilities?
Ashland Lakes are in Ashland, Milton Keynes. If you don’t know the area then Ashlands isn’t far from Caldecotte Lake or the MK1 retail park or IKEA. There is a free car park. It’s not very big. It’s on Penshurst Crescent, off the V8 Marlborough Street. Charging points for electric cars can also be found here. We used the postcode MK6 4AN. We parked ok when we visited. There are no toilets. There is no café. The nearest facilities as and when they re-open are probably at the retail park or Ikea. They were not open when we went in May 2020.
What are Ashland Lakes like?
Ashland Lakes are set next to the residential estate of Ashland in Milton Keynes. It’s not a big place but if you’re local to Milton Keynes it’s a different place to explore with the children. It’s much smaller than the larger lakes of Willen or Caldecotte so is not really a destination to visit if you live outside of MK. There are paths around the lake and lots of ducks. There was some algae or other brown stuff in part of the lake with signs saying don’t fish – so it’s not a place for children to go in. When we visited there was a fair amount of duck poo on the paths. The paths were flat enough for my two sons to scoot around it and there are a number of bridges to go back and forth on. It wasn’t very busy when we visited and we were able to distance from those who were there. We waited until others had cross the bridges. There’s also a wonderful surprise once you get to the end of the lake – a 120 metre long wooden snake. It’s an art installation called ‘The Water Serpent’ by Chris Drury. It’s huge. It is NOT a play area and there are signs saying don’t climb on it – so don’t allow your children to get on it. My children did enjoy following it from start to finish. The path narrows along some of it.
Where do you go after Ashland Lakes?
Ashland Lakes themselves are quiet small but good if you have young children who don’t want to walk too far. My sons aged six and four when we visited had a good time – there’s a good hill near the serpent sculpture they liked whizzing down. The estate also has flat paths which are good for scooting on and there’s a small play area. We were not allowed on play areas when we visited, but it’s worth knowing for the future. From the serpent we went under the underpass and followed the path. It goes on for ages but was completely empty. My sons got a bit bored in the end so we turned back but looking at a map it looks like it would have taken us to the MK1 retail park area. I think if we returned we’d look to see if we could walk from Ashland to Caldecotte Lake as it doesn’t look too far on the map. If you’ve found this review useful do have a look at other local walks on my website.
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