Stantonbury and Bradwell Walk - Swans Way (3)

We are back on the canal again! Seem to have spent a lot of time canalside recently which is never a bad thing though.Compared to last weekend there seems to be much more activity.
Certainly more boats on the water as people started to get some normality back after so long being sidelined.

Archie taking a dip

Snack time

On the face of it the route looks a little mundane, built up and urban. Milton Keynes isn't really noted for it's countryside and open spaces. However my walking companion assures me that he thinks today's walk could be quite interesting. Almost immediately we come across a lovely lake area where Archie is able to cool off. There are lots of safe walkways all around the city and the joggers and cyclists are out in force.

A Comma Butterfly

'Sunnytopia'  Fairy village

 As we cut across Bancroft Park we come across a Fairy village 'Sunnytopia' . It was created by a mum and her daughter during lockdown. The village has grown and grown with street names, more houses, two inns, a gym, a post office, a library, a sweet shop and even fruit juice bar. Would you believe even a 'Flora Night-angel' hospital where the fairies can go if they get sick. Sadly all the Fairies seemed to be away at the time we passed and the village was deserted.

Another surprise lay just around the corner. The Bancroft Roman Villa was discovered during MK Development Corporation building construction in 1971 and was excavated throughout the next 15 years.

Milton Keynes is not exactly where you expect to happen upon a Roman Villa. Bancroft was one of eight large farming estates created 2,000 years ago in the city area, each centred around a Roman Villa – in Milton Keynes Village,

Bancroft being the biggest of those excavated.
An archaeological dig revealed an underfloor heating system with a limestone open hearth, a bath suite, colonnaded verandas and porch, an ornamental walled garden with fish pond and a summer house.
Silver-bronze brooches for fastening a toga, decorated hair combs and 1,000 coins were found in and around the site.

A mosaic floor excavated from the Villa, was mounted on a wall overlooking Queens’ Court in Central Milton Keynes in September 1977.

The famous MK Concrete Cows

I can remember as a child the highlight of a train journey to London from Northampton was spotting the concrete cows. Created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh. There are three cows and three calves and are now fairly iconic. They have been described as 'conceptual art'. 
The artist poking fun at the preconceived notion of the 'New City' being made entirely of concrete pavements where once there were fields. The ones pictured are actually replicas as the originals are now safely herded into the MK Museum.

Bradwell Abbey

The rare monastic 14th century chapel of St Mary sits on the site of a Benedictine Priory,
The chapel was home to a miraculous statue which brought pilgrims praying to 'Our Ladie of Bradwell'.
This was, it is thought, in response to the discovery of healing properties of a statue of the Virgin Mary displayed in a niche on the west front of the church. It's a lovely area and there seems to be a visitors centre and a lot of effort made with the upkeep.

Fishing ponds to the rear of the Abbey

Throughout the walk we have 'gone wrong' numerous times . In fact I think we have only seen one signpost for the Swans Way. This has resulted in many about turns, climbing over barriers, sliding down verges, crawling through hedges and various other obstacles....

It's been so much better than anticipated though. Now 50 years old there is still the charm of surrounding places that have not been swallowed up entirely by development. There is far more than the soulless society that some would have you believe.

St Lawrence Church in Bradwell Village

Bradwell Castle Mound

 Next to St. Lawrence's Church Bradwell is the castle mound a motte and bailey . Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans. Essentially a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte,surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,adjoined the motte.

A Starship Robot

 It is only fitting that in this modern metropolis one further surprise should be lurking around the corner. I think we heard the noise first , like a radio controlled car. Then like something off of 'Tomorrow's world  it can rolling in to view 'The Starship Robot'. It stopped at the edge of the road before making it's way uphill and out of sight. I was expecting to see a human with a radio controller ? But no, nothing  to be seen.





Further research revealed that these six wheeled robots can navigate streets and sidewalks autonomously. They are designed to be safe and robust, offering on-demand package delivery for consumers and businesses.

After the initial shock and surprise I have to say they are really quite cute. I did start to worry for it's safety ....What if it got hit by a car or bike ???  No need to worry though as they have completed over 100,000 deliveries in the last two years. 

Customers make their grocery or takeaway order with an app, track the bots as they make their journey, then open the lid and retrieve their order with their phone.
The firm says demand for robot deliveries has surged in the last three months due to the corona virus pandemic, as locals look for contactless ways to purchase meals or groceries.
 It's not clear whether demand will remain as the virus outbreak subsides and UK authorities gradually ease social distancing and lockdown measures. Now that is something I didn't expect to see today !!