Stanton Low Park
About Stanton Low Park
Despite being one of the newer parks in Milton Keynes, Stanton Low is rich in heritage. The park is situated in North East Milton Keynes and is just a short walk away from Great Linford Manor Park. The area offers incredible views across the valley of the River Great Ouse.
History
The area of Stanton Low is fantastic for discovering local history. Towards the north-west corner of the park lies the below-ground remains of the former Stantonbury Manor. The site of this 17th Century manor house can be seen in a number of substantial earthworks that provided features of interest in the garden of what would have been a very impressive property before the house it was damaged by fire in 1743 and eventually demolished in 1791.
Next to the site of the Manor lie the above-ground remains of St Peter’s Church. A church is believed to have stood on this site for more than 1,000 years and parts of old church walls that still stand today date at least as far back as the 12th Century.
Wildlife
The land at Stanton Low was used for livestock grazing for many centuries. After farming ceased in 2007, much of the pastureland developed into meadows and ‘rough’ grassland habitat that are of great value for birds, insects and small mammals like voles and shrews. Visit the site on a summer’s evening at twilight and you may be lucky and see a Barn Owl silently gliding over the grassland hunting for prey or in autumn flocks of finches feeding on the seeds of plants like teasel and hogweed. The Parks Trust manages these fields through a combination of carefully controlled cutting and livestock grazing, leaving some areas uncut each year to provide continuous cover for wildlife.
Joan’s Piece
Joan’s Piece is an area of plantation woodland on the west side of the canal overlooking Bradwell Lake. It was originally leased to the Woodland Trust by the Borough Council of Milton Keynes in 1987 as bare land suitable for planting, before The Parks Trust took over management in 2016. The woodland was planted on top of an existing refuse site and can only be accessed by the canal towpath. There is a woodchip path around Joan’s Piece, which features a mixture of ash, alder, field maple, cherry and willow trees, as well as blackthorn and bramble scrub.
Facilities
- There are no public toilets at Stanton Low Park.
- There is no cafe at Stanton Low Park.
- There is a fantastic play area on site which is suitable for all ages and a BMX track.
Getting Here
There is free public parking in the south west corner of the park off the Newport Road next to the Oakridge Park Local Centre (What 3 Words: ///reader.unless.shrubbery). Please note - this car park has a height barrier of 1.9m.
There is no public parking for visitors to the park from within the Oakridge Park residential area other than a small Blue Badge car park off Selkirk Drive.
Bus stops do not have post codes. Therefore, it is better to use What 3 Words to locate them.
- The number 7 bus stops at Townsend Grove bus stops on Newport Road. Located at What 3 Words: reviewed.wording.sheds. This is 35m from the Newport Road park entrance.
- The number 18 bus stops at Selkirk Drive. Located at What 3 Words: panicking.notice.founding. This is 90m from the Selkirk Drive park entrance.
Suggested drop-off and pick-up locations. Our parks do not have postcodes. Therefore, sometimes you need to supply a landmark to your driver. You could use: ASDA Oakridge Park (please note, there are steps connecting the ASDA car park to Stanton Low Park).
Accessibility
There are hard-surfaced footpaths along the southern edge of the park near the Oakridge Park housing estate. One hard-surfaced path provides a loop beside the Canal. Other paths are unsurfaced and uneven. There are no surfaced paths to the north of the canal. The Swan’s Way is a public highway open to vehicular traffic and passes directly by the remains of St Peter’s Church. However, there is no off-road parking available at the site. Park maps show more detailed route information on-site.
Facilities at Stanton Low Park
Parking
Picnic Tables
Play Area
Santander Cycles
BMX Track
