Howe Park Wood is a lovely place to take young children for a walk. It’s accessible for buggies although like most woodlands can get muddy during wet weather. I walked my baby boy around the circuit in about 20 minutes although with a toddler would take longer. There’s a good den building area and lots and lots of sticks to collect. There’s a band of frog sculptures to look at. Howe Park Wood Café sells nice cakes and there’s an outdoor seating area which is more or less under cover. What it has been missing is a play area. However one was installed in July 2016. It’s the smallest play play area I’ve come across but it’s very sweet if you have got young toddlers – although only a few could play at once. It consists of a climbing frame with small slide, balance beam and steps.
Parking is free. Definitely visit in late April / May – the bluebells are beautiful. Howe Park Wood is located just off the H7 Chaffron Way opposite the Westcroft District Centre (Morrisons). The postcode given is MK4 3GG although I found it easier to use the one for the shopping centre which is MK4 4DD – the wood is on the other side of the road. Parking is free. There are videos of both the play area and the bluebells on my Youtube channel.
I'm Laura, mum of two boys - aged six and four. I started this website at the end of Sept 2015 whilst on maternity leave. I now work four days a week and do this blog late at night once the little boys are sleeping. It's won several awards over the last four years and I continue to run it for free and mostly focus on free, cheap, and good value days out. Do drop me an email laura@miltonkeyneskids.com if you want to contact me. Don't forget to follow all of our latest adventures on facebook, instagram and twitter and have a look at all of the videos of the places we visit on the Milton Keynes Kids YouTube Channel - subscribe to it for notifications every time I add a new place. And remember... you may been reading this post months after we visited, do check with the destination you're visiting for up to date opening times and prices. If you find this blog useful then please do comment on my posts and leave me a Facebook review - it makes doing this all the more worthwhile.
I’m kinda sad there’s a play park there now…! I loved that it was just the woods. My children spent ages rebuilding a den and getting scratched and dirty in the clearings, chasing butterflies and were fascinated by the tadpoles. We love the cafe and apart from the forays to the pond to check on the aforementioned taddies, we sat and enjoyed our tea. I know next time they’ll want to play on the playground. It was good to have something out of the ordinary and less ‘designed’ for play. Hopefully as its little they’ll tire quickly and we can go back to our logs and puddles!!!
Hi Cathy, thanks for commenting, I do know what you mean. In all honesty my 3 year old is more than happy just running around a field with a friend, although he does love collecting sticks too. The way I see it is that it’s an added extra to an already lovely place to visit, laura