The Tree Cathedral is another hidden gem of Milton Keynes. I walked in the area back in March when…read morethe trees were all bare but even then it looked insanely cool. I've looked up photos of the tree cathedral in full bloom and it's just beautiful. Constructed in 1986 to look like Norwich Cathedral, I'm sure it's a great spot for small ceremonies. It's divided into various sections all meticulously planned which you can read about on the plaque right in front of the cathedral. It has a nice stone path down the center for easy navigation. Upon reading a bit more on the Tree Cathedral when I got home - you can now scatter ashes there. Peaceful and creepy at the same time. The Tree Cathedral can be found opposite of Willen Lake.

This is the most random but awesome thing in all of Milton Keynes! I didn't believe my friend when…read morehe said there was a pagoda in MK, but alas, he proved me wrong. Tranquil and chill Peace Pagoda is an absolutely beautiful structure among the grounds of Willen Lake. The Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda was completed in 1980 and the first in the western world. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a peace loving, tree hugging hippie at heart so to see a structure that just conveys the message of peace among all hit a heart string in me. Not far from the pagoda is a Nipponzan-Myōhōji monastery. While taking in the views we passed one of the groundskeepers who was friendly as could be. For up to date updates on the pagoda, keep up with their blog: http://mkbuddhism.wordpress.com/.

It is very lovely to look around and relax/meditate near the Peace Pagoda…read more Please look all the stories around this Pagoda. Really peaceful and beautiful place. You can come here by bicycle or on foot and it worths to visit.

Wenn Ihr in der Gegend seid: das Schloss ist sehenswert,…read morewenn Ihr die Jagd liebt, aber auch, wenn die Schätze der Herrschaften Euer Interesse wecken könnten. Aber der Garten und insbesondere, der angefügte Landschaftspark mit seinem riesigen, alten Baumbestand, wird Euer Staunen erwecken. Solche Bäume sind selten geworden in Europa. Aus dem Touristen-Flyer: Woburn Abbey has been home to the Dukes of Bedford for over 300 years and is still home to the 15th Duke and his family today. When the 6th Duke inherited Woburn, Humphry Repton, the famous landscape gardener, was commissioned to produce designs to improve the gardens and park. Follow the Garden Trail information boards to find out more about the Abbey Gardens and the redevelopment over the past five years to recreated and replant Reptons original features and themed garden areas.

Knebworth house, gardens and park is a brilliant family day out. The grounds are huge, the gardens…read moreare interesting, and the house is beautiful. You can park the car by the house and gardens, and also at the bottom of the park. For the kids, there is a huge adventure playground (best to do this on the way out as it's right at the bottom of the park, miles from the house and gardens), which has a good range of play equipment for pretty much any age range. In the summer they have a free bouncy castle too. The gardens are seperated into different areas, and it is all very well signposted so you won't get lost. The dinosaur garden is really good, and the kitchen garden smells heavenly in the right seasons. There is a fun maze too. The house itself is really beautiful, and you can pay extra to have tours. I could go on forever explaining everything here, but I won't. Rest assured it is well worth the entrance fee. The cafe is really expensive so take a picnic!

This is one of those buildings that have become one on Northampton's landmarks. You can see it from…read moremiles around! I would love to have the chance to go up it and see the panoramic views which I bet are spectacular! This tower I guess was just made even more famous by Mr Terry Wogans bungling comments that it was a lighthouse! He even suggested that the east coast was eroding so quickly that the Government had commissioned the lighthouse ready for Northampton's new coastal location-classic, I love it! The future of the Tower does seem to be hanging in the balance though after urgent structural tests had to be carried out after reports that the tower, designed to have a 20 to 45 year life span, was riddled with concrete cancer. But conflicting reports also suggest: There is also the prospect of the tower being brought back into service as a test tower if a consortium is granted permission to proceed. I do hope that the latter is the case as it would be such a great shame to lose such an iconic building.

The National Lift Tower (once the Express Lift Tower) is one of the tallest buildings in the…read moreMidlands outside of Birmingham. It is known as the Northampton Light House because it looks like a really tall lighthouse and, more importantly, Terry Wogan named it that on his radio show for old people. It's an ugly looking thing anyone who has been to, or past Northampton, would have seen dominate the skyline. It changes color like Ayres Rock at different times of the day, although from battleship grey to River Nene brown. To the locals it's a head scratcher and a rather ignored and forgotten statement of the town. It was built by the Express Lifts Company to test lifts in, of course, which it did for 15 years, opened by the Queen in the early 1980s. But then the Express Lift Company was bought by Otis Engineering and it was quickly closed down and 500 jobs lost and never properly used again. It's still the youngest ever listed building in the UK when awarded that status in 1997 when it closed. It's believed to have received that immediate protected status by English Heritage only because it would be too tricky and expensive to knock it over for Otis, today surrounded by houses and the Saints Rugby Club a mere 200m away. The confusing thing for locals at the time was where else would you test lifts in the UK if it wasn't in this bespoke tower so surely big demand, only one other working tower in the whole of Europe, and so why was it closed? It's even taller than the Americans version. It was like shutting Gatwick Airport at the time. But there are never fatal lift accidents in the news so we clearly don't need it. Presumably its all computer modeled now. It was basically one huge and ambitious waste of money that broke the Express Lifts companies back. Its 418ft (127.5 meters) high and in 2009 was reconditioned so to be used again by lift engineers, mostly for training and minor testing on welds and construction etc. It has six shafts and, of course, no waits for a lift to the top for the amazing view although not open to the public. I have been up on a press day but it was pi**ing down and we were in the actual low cloud base, which was kind of cool in its own way. I would pay two quid to go up there on a sunny day but the council won't go for it, turning down recent planning permission for a 100 seater café and viewing platform atop. One of the lifts moves at 10m per second so money could be made here. Its main earn right now seems to be charity, nearly 150 energetic people a year abseiling down it, which has upset the locals. It has two staircases, one to the top, and another to some conference and office space. The best April Fool story was an airship company had bought it and would be docking their regularly. 120 people complained. Over 800 fell for the April Fool that the tower would be knocked down in 2008 to reuse the concrete for the Olympic Stadium to save money, that, my brilliant suggestion for an April Fool in the paper I wrote for in the summer. You can walk to the bottom of it as it is in a public housing estate and looking up it is an impressive sight, solid concrete structure and gentle curves, described as the 'Brutalist' style of archeology. It's the sort of size of size monolith the Greek and Roman emperors would build for themselves to represent their authority and presence in the great cities of the old Empires. Northampton is not one of the great cities of the Earth. It suitably represents us grey, unwanted and has its head in the clouds. It's also a monolith to the loss of hard industry to China, why there is no longer work for five million Brits.

The ancestral home of the Washingtons in Britain offers 'a gentle stroll through three centuries of…read moreEnglish history' and houses the largest UK collection of George Washington memorabilia. A favourite place to visit for our Banbury team.

Sulgrave Manor is a great place to visit. Traditionally, most well known as the ancestral home of…read moreGeorge Washington's family. A frequent haunt of American travellers, for obvious reasons; the manor boasts an excellent herb garden, which is well worth a visit, and hosts fantastic special days known as 'living history' days, which are great for children, as there is lots of dressing up involved and interesting food and fun games. The fabulous old building was built during Shakesperian times and is a good example of a modest housing and garden abode. The gift shop is extensive and the cafe has a good selection of food and refreshments. The village of Sulgrave itself is beautiful, and a fine example of Northamptonshire country-style. There is a lovely village shop, run only by the community and volunteers! unusual in these times! The village pub is good too, with the same good service and quality. All round, a great day out for the family, but compact enough also for a quick drop in visit. Highly Recommended.

Kirby Hall is an amazing place. You can go inside and walk around looking at the sky as there is no…read moreroof in parts of it. A family ticket caost about £12.00 and is well worth it to get a little glimpse of the gradour. The hall has been used in some filming including Jane Austin's Mansfield Park. The gardens ane beutifully kept, there is access for disabled,a small shop,picnic area and toilets

Although barely more than an uninhabited and ruinous shell, this fine Elizabethan house still…read moredisplays many of the ornate external features that formed part of the original building, which dates from 1570. Kirby Hall was built for Sir Humphrey Stafford, a distant family descendant of the Earls of Stafford, but he died before the work was completed, and the property was sold to Sir Christopher Hatton. Financial difficulties eventually caught up with the family successors, resulting from the cost of continual improvements and maintenance, coupled with the vast sums of money lavished on entertaining. Inevitably, Kirby Hall's importance began to decline during the 18th century, and by the middle of the 19th century this imposing and beautiful family home had been deserted, neglected, and subjected to shameful destruction in order to pay off a substantial gambling debt. Thank fully the national trust have tried to preserve this magnificent home and it really is breathtaking.

nice if you want to visit a local castle with the kids. It is only open at certain times so maybe…read moreworth a call to check the opening times. Also has facilities for weddings and functions. They facilitate group bookings as well

Very beautiful setting for this interesting historic property. Quite a lot to see and a great place…read morefor a picnic too. The ancient adjoining church is wkrth including in your visit, but the various art galleries might not be worth spending time at. The formal garden (not visited) costs extra.

Claydon House is a National Trust property. Though not as spectacular as some country houses it is…read morestill worth a visit. I believe the current Earl of Verney still resides on the property which has been in their family for close to four hundred years. It is quite nice for a nose around as they have not only the period furnished house, but an organic garden selling seasonal fruit and vegetables, but a second hand bookshop and various craft store items. Also look out for the annual formula 1 hovercraft racing event staged on the flat ground and lake just down the hill from the house. This is always a fun event inn the summer. There is also some Florence Nightingale memorabilia as she was related to the family and visited from time to time.

Beautiful, romantic castle set on top of a hill looking over the forest. This is a day out for all…read morethe family. Stuffed full of early medieval history with very helpful guides to talk you around the place. The gardens are lovely and your kids with think the elephant hedge is fantastic. Lots of events throughout the year. Also events and jousting company in the grounds.

Recognised by William the Conqueror as a strategically important site, Rockingham was established…read moreas an administrative base of the Normans by the end of the 11th century. But William was only continuing the trend set much earlier by pre-historic settlers. The natural defences encompassing this elevated site made it an ideal location for commanding the valley below, and since the Iron Age a hill fort of some description appears to have been positioned here. The castle remained a popular venue with successive kings, notably King John in the early years of the 13th century who not only enjoyed numerous hunting trips but also conducted much State business whilst staying at Rockingham Castle. Towards the end of the same century, Edward I demonstrated a keen interest in retaining this castle as a major royal residence by instigating a major programme of works to repair and refurbish the building. By the 15th century, however, Government operations were being handled almost entirely in London, and Rockingham Castle had ceased to become such an important venue. Consequently, Henry V was the last king to stay at Rockingham in 1422, and it was subsequently granted to Henry VI's queen and Edward IV's queen. Despite some general repairs being carried out during the succeeding years, the castle was found to be near derelict by the mid-16th century. It was at this time that Edward Watson was able to take a lease on the Rockingham estate, and for thirty years he worked on transforming the old medieval castle into a comfortable Tudor home. In 1619 Crown ownership of Rockingham Castle ended when King James I sold to Watson's grandson. Generations of the same family have occupied the castle now for some 400 years, each leaving their own mark on this magnificent house. Today the castle represents a golden-coloured architectural delight spanning some seven centuries of building.