Cattle Creep, Iron Trunk Aqueduct, Wolverton review

It goes without saying that some of our best adventures are the ones where we least expect it. That’s exactly what happened when we went to visit Stony Stratford Nature Reserve – then through Ouse Valley Park and on to the Iron Trunk Aqueduct in Wolverton where we discovered the super cool cattle creep tunnel which goes under the aqueduct. If you do find this post useful and create some wonderful memories with your children, please do consider buying me a coffee to help with the running costs of this website, Milton Keynes Kids is run independently with no advertising in addition to my day job and looking after two children. Thank you. 

Where is the cattle creep and Iron Trunk Aqueduct and where is it best to park?

We found the cattle creep by accident so it’s up to you whether you want to follow our adventure or park in a different location to explore. We had decided to go to Stony Stratford Nature Reserve. The address we used was Queen Eleanor St, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes MK11 1PW. That address actually took us slightly past the nature reserve to a good sized free public car park which we did park in. But we then had to walk up the road a bit to get to the nature reserve and once we arrived we discovered that there is a small free car park in there too. So if you fancy doing what we did then do park there. Looking at google maps though I wouldn’t say that’s the closest place to park if you specifically want to go to the cattle creep. Do have a look at the Canal River Trust website where there’s a really good map showing all the walks around it. Probably the best car park is at Old Wolverton Road, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5NL. 

Where did we go first?

To start with we walk through the big tunnels which my children aged seven and five loved and went round and round those a few times. Then we followed the sign for Stony Stratford Nature Reserve. It was a quiet circular walk, full of greenery and wildlife. There was a bird hide. We didn’t see many people and it was a relaxing route – easy to navigate and before long we found ourselves back to where we started. 

Where did we go from Stony Stratford Nature Reserve? 

We ended up back at the tunnels having done a circular walk around Stony Stratford Nature Reserve so we headed back through those then followed signs for Ouse Valley Park. We shortly came to a lovely area by the River Ouse where we saw tadpoles. We sat there for a while before continuing on our walk. Shortly after we came to cows in the middle of the path so we gave them a wide birth and carried on walking. We kept going along the river through a big wide open space. Eventually we came to a bridge which took us to the Iron Trunk Aqueduct and the cattle creep. From what I understand local people had been waiting a long time for the bridge to be repaired – so if you are familiar to the area then as of July 2020 it had re-opened. 

What is the iron trunk aqueduct and cattle creep like?

The trunk is a really impressive structure and carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Ouse. It was built in 1811 by canal engineer Benjamin Beavan, You can walk under the aqueduct by going through a tunnel called a cattle creep. It’s very narrow and a bit creepy but very cool. From there we then went up the stairs which are to the side and up on to the aqueduct where there were lots of canal boats. Just don’t look down! I have to admit I got sweaty palms as you are up really high. From there you can continue to walk along the canal to explore much further. my eldest son – aged seven at the time of writing this – really enjoyed being up that high. My youngest – aged five – less so. We’d definitely go back to this area again but that was as far as our journey took us this time as my boys were both pretty tired by then. But if you do want to go further or start in a different location do have a look at the Canal River Trust website. And if you’ve enjoyed this review do check out the rest of my local walks section on my website.