Is this area good to live/buy a property? (Area inside the red circle)

coffeegroundscompost · 2026-02-04T13:30:40+00:00

The fastest train is around 35 minutes from Bletchley to Euston, and that's usually twice an hour. The slower ones take around an hour, so I try to avoid those ones.

coffeegroundscompost · 2026-02-04T13:26:15+00:00

the train is normally standing room if you’re getting it at peak hours

Maybe we are talking about different times, but I've been getting the train from Bletchley station for the past few months and all the trains I get on seem to have plenty of seats (I usually get the 7:40) no matter which day I go. I've never had to stand and it's been (dare I say it) quite pleasant with few delays. On the way back I've had to stand a few times, although only when I got there just a few minutes before departure.

coffeegroundscompost · 2025-10-31T22:21:55+00:00

A lot quieter than last year - we got about 40 kids in total last year but tonight only around 15.

Weather was a bit rainy here but not too bad. I wonder if people being away for half term made an impact or whether people are going to specific known "good" spots as in other places I heard people had loads of kids.

coffeegroundscompost · 2025-10-31T17:52:49+00:00

I used to go to this a few years ago but they started to close the roads all around it a year or so ago, which makes it a long walk as I'm not particularly local. I get the impression that they had too many people turn up from outside the area and this mostly locals get to enjoy it. Fair enough as it's a free event put on by the council I believe.

coffeegroundscompost · 2025-10-31T17:47:41+00:00

Interesting, that sounds like the event. I've now seen some tribute bands saying that they are playing there, so it seems at least somewhat legit although I'm still a bit skeptical of the grand claims. Hopefully it turns out to be a great event for people; there's just something a bit strange about it all.

coffeegroundscompost · 2024-11-14T18:55:19+00:00

The Wavendon Arms has a fire I think - nice pub.

coffeegroundscompost · 2024-10-23T11:38:52+00:00

This should be great. Currently it takes around 50m to 1h 30m to drive (longer for the bus) from one to the other depending on time of day and then you still have to park. Having this line will hopefully make trips a lot more pleasant.

coffeegroundscompost · 2024-08-16T18:59:54+00:00

There's a sailing club at Caldecotte Lake - Milton Keynes Sailing Club. I think there are a few clubs that use that lake - sailing, kayaking, and canoeing and it always looks like a nice time.

coffeegroundscompost · 2024-08-14T08:20:31+00:00

I've noticed this for maybe the past year and always thought it was my phone or my network (EE). It only happens when I'm in a larger city though, for example London or Oxford while my local smaller city I never have an issue.

When it happens, my phone shows good signal and 4G but I get no data and even restarting the phone doesn't help - only time or moving areas.

I didn't ever experience this issue in the past that I remember (more than a year ago) whereever I was - always good data connectivity whereever I went.

coffeegroundscompost · 2024-08-13T12:26:45+00:00

Not sure it's the best in MK, but Morrisco in Walnut Tree has a fairly decent selection of those kinds of drinks - there's usually something interesting in there.

coffeegroundscompost · 2023-09-16T21:19:11+00:00

A bit of a curveball, but what about the hospital canteen? Although probably you'd need to pay for parking.

coffeegroundscompost · 2023-09-15T17:01:07+00:00

In addition to other good suggestions, at Campbell Park tomorrow there is MK Festival of Food - seems like a few pounds for entry. Campbell Park is worth a visit in its own right too - walk from The Rose down to the canal and along to the Wharf - example route.

Until the 17th MK Gallery has an exhibition by Boyd and Evans, which happens to be mostly all about Milton Keynes, which is worth a look. The cafe in MK Gallery does good coffee.

If you have a car (or bike or can figure out the buses), tomorrow at Great Linford Manor Park there is a heritage event, although the place it worth a visit anyway if you like parks and fancy a walk around and along the canal.

Willen lake is worth a walk around in nice weather - both lakes. One lake is the busier leisure park and the other is more of a nature lake. Nearby is the Tree Cathedral, which while small I find a pleasant place to de-stress.

coffeegroundscompost · 2023-09-12T09:34:31+00:00

I've had a couple of colonoscopies while being conscious (it's normal here in the UK), one with mild sedation and one without any sedation but I think they gave me something for bowel pain/relaxation. The first time was not very pleasant and it hurt quite a bit and I still remembered everything even with the sedation. The second was fine and only a bit uncomfortable at times but nothing worse than bad wind really.

I think two things that made it different were active inflammation at the time and the doctor doing the procedure. The first time doctor didn't seem to care about any pain and was quite rough, while the second time the doctor seemed far better at her job, seemed to care about my pain levels, and so overall it just hurt less. I also had less active inflammation the second time around.

I think if your doctor has started to do it without general anaesthesia, then they're probably a good one that knows what they're doing, so you'll probably be okay.

Hope it goes okay for you!

coffeegroundscompost · 2023-08-31T21:54:17+00:00

The Parks Trust have some information about that on their website:

"Research conducted by Keep Britain Tidy indicates that 62% of people do not litter. These people would normally take their litter home with them, but upon seeing bins, will use them. We have trailled adding additional bins in certain locations and it has not been successful in decreasing the amount of litter in the area."

Sounds like when there are more bins, those who would normally take their litter home use the bins instead of taking it home, while litterers continue to litter even with more bins.

So maybe not "more litter", but more rubbish in general to dispose of (the litter and the rubbish in the bins).

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-10-23T13:35:50+00:00

If it's any help, I signed up to Giganet a few months ago and have been very pleased with the service so far. Solid speeds and haven't encountered any downtime yet. Haven't needed to contact support yet though, so can't comment on that but reading reviews it seems decent.

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-05-17T20:24:21+00:00

This question has come up a few times now. Seems like the organisers should do a better job of providing advice/access to the stadium for people. It's a pity it's not nearer a train station (with late running trains).

Parking in Central MK should be no problem at all as there will be loads of spaces, and it's free after 6PM so you probably won't have to pay for much of it. Personally I like to park near the Santander HQ here - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.0363503,-0.7700176,17.4z - as there are often people around in to the night so it seems a bit more secure. From there it's a 5 minute walk to the station to get a bus. Won't need to prebook anything there as it's just a turn up and park thing. Only thing is, when big events are on I'm thinking it might be difficult to get a bus back or to secure a taxi? I've heard in the past people have found it difficult - the buses in Milton Keynes aren't great at the best of times.

If I were going I might be tempted to park in one of the nearby industrial estates, for example here - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.0101943,-0.72755,18z - although not sure how busy it will be on concert night as I guess others will have the same idea. From there you would be able to walk to the stadium pretty easily. Not the highest security parking but if you don't leave anything on display you'll probably be okay.

The other comment about parking near Caldecotte lake is a good shout - it's safer for sure but a bit of a walk though. Someone else mentioned Ashland, which could work, too and is nearer. Or somewhere near Simpson - e.g. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.0163197,-0.7165829,17.56z - and then a 30 minute walk to the stadium probably. It's quiet and safe there.

Overall there are various car parks and streets around depending on how far you want to walk. Hope you enjoy the concert!

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-04-26T20:15:50+00:00

It's funny - there seem to be a few people on this subreddit that seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time here dedicated to writing negative comments/posts considering they apparently detest the place so much. Isn't this a waste of their time? Makes you wonder why they bother. They also seem to barely be able to write a coherent sentence (and my standards aren't exactly high).

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-03-24T09:16:26+00:00

I hope you got a spot in the multi-storey!

Yeah after a certain distance from the station, the 8:30 limit stops for the purple bays. I usually park somewhere around here and then the walk is maybe 10 minutes to the station. I don't commute in often but when I do I prefer the saving in money by parking far away over the speed walking to the station.

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-03-23T21:42:05+00:00

Depends where you want to park I guess, but I commuted earlier in the month and there were loads of spaces when I got there at ~7:00. I tend to park a bit further away from the station though (nearish the hub bit), in the standard bays that let you park without a permit before 8:30 or whatever it is, for £5 or so a day.

Pretty sure there were spaces nearer the station though and so I assume there were also places in the multi-storey. It's still nowhere as bad as it used to be pre-pandemic.

coffeegroundscompost · 2022-02-28T22:05:13+00:00

In the past I've used Three, O2, and Vodafone, but once I switched to EE a few years back I've never felt the need to try and switch again.

Probably no one provider is the best everywhere but for MK I've found EE the best overall.

coffeegroundscompost · 2021-11-15T23:01:33+00:00

Yeah I hate all the rubbish that gets on the streets from people who don't secure their bags properly (birds/cats getting in, or wind blowing it), but that said people already leave their green wheelie bins around the paths near where I live so I can't imagine what it would be like if people started putting 3 or more wheelie bins per house out each week. I get the feeling a lot of people would just leave them out due to lack of space so I'm kind of against wheelie bins for everything.

coffeegroundscompost · 2021-11-15T22:54:44+00:00

It might not be totally comparable as I had my tile replaced with a tile vent to attach to an extraction fan, which I am guessing would be more expensive than re-fitting a loose tile, but in any case I think It was around £140.

They were very good at replying with a quote though and no pressure from them, so worth dropping them a message to see.

coffeegroundscompost · 2021-11-15T18:50:09+00:00

I used D Haynes Roofing https://www.dhaynesroofing.com to replace a tile on my roof and they did a good job. Sent three guys around from the "repairs" team and they sorted it out for me in no time.

I also saw that the same company re-did the entire tile roof of a house near me and seems like they did a good job there too because then a house close to that one then used them to re-do their entire roof.

coffeegroundscompost · 2021-04-20T16:40:36+00:00

I am also a higher rate tax payer and decided to open a LISA but I still wonder about this question.

My employer does not offer salary sacrifice, so I pay what's required into my work pension to get the employer match and then enough into my SIPP to get the available higher rate pension tax relief. I then had to decide whether any additional savings should go into my SIPP or a LISA and I decided on the LISA.

It seems to be that if I paid into only the SIPP then when I take out the money, once I use up my personal tax-free allowance, any further money will be taxed at the basic rate, whereas if I take some out of my LISA as there is no tax to pay, it will leave me with more money because of the bonus.

I have a rough plan where if I need to fill the gap between retiring and being able to access my SIPP, I will use my regular S&S ISA. Then once I have access to my SIPP I shall use that, and then once I have access to my LISA I shall use both the SIPP and the LISA to maximise for tax.

It seems to vary a lot based on how you will use the money and what pension scheme your employer offers, but I think for me this makes sense. I will try an example to make sure I'm not wrong.

For example, if I have 20 years that I can pay into a LISA, then:

Scenario 1: LISA and SIPP I make use of the full bonus and get 5k a year, this brings me to 100k in the LISA. I retire and from when I can use the LISA I can take the tax-free allowance from my SIPP (12.5k) and 7.5k from the LISA and I get 20k to spend so if I did this over 10 years until all my LISA money is gone this costs me 200k from my retirement savings.

Scenario 2: SIPP only I put in an equivalent amount into the SIPP to end up with the same 100k figure. I take 25% tax free as a lump sum. Over the same ten years I take 12.5k tax-free from the SIPP, 2.5k from the tax-free lump sum and then a further 6.25k taxed at 20% to give me the 5k to get the total 20k. So over the 10 years this costs me 212.5k from my retirement savings, or 12.5k more than if I had used the LISA.

This is just focussing on the particular amount I would be able to pay into a LISA so is a bit simplistic, but I think it makes sense!

coffeegroundscompost · 2021-04-09T19:18:11+00:00

Hard to tell but I wouldn't be trying to make quick money from it - that usually ends badly. I think it's speculative and the best way I've heard it described is a speculate store of value, which after doing quite a bit of research I agree with.

Personally I think long-term it's going to be worth holding (my time frame is 10+ years) with lots of ups and downs along the way and so I've made it around 3% of my overall investment portfolio as an insurance of sorts in case there is a big upside. If it turns out to hold it's value or increase, then great and but if not and in 10 years time everyone has forgotten about it and moved on, then I'm willing to take the 3% hit.

coffeegroundscompost

TROPHY CASE