Friday 3rd July 2026 – Monday 6th July 2026
Faringdon Folly Tower, (Oxfordshire)
Abi and I set off Friday evening and had a little stop in Faringdon. We walked up the hill to see the tower, we almost didn’t as we could see from the bottom that it was fully covered in scaffolding but we went anyway.
We were so glad we did. There are all sorts of fairy things at the base of the tower including….an actual working piano in a sort of fairy style shelter. Naturally we played a couple of tunes before exploring the fairy ring and the tree stump house, complete with resident doll.
Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire)
On Saturday we cycled around this strange but lovely city on our bikes. It’s odd not having an old High Street or town square, but we absolutely loved all the footpaths, cycleways and green space. We parked in Lodge Lake and were instantly impressed with all the wild flower meadow beds and we saw a grey heron within the first 10 minutes.
We found the massive shopping centre and were pleased to find free clean toilets.
Willen Lake, Milton Keynes
Later in the afternoon we moved the van over to Willen Lake and treated ourselves to a few hours paid parking whilst Abi enjoyed the splashpad.
Next came the first negative thing….a splashpad that you have to pay for!!? I’ve never known one charge, it was £6.50 for a mere 45 minutes. I’d already changed Abi into just her swimsuit & swimshoes before we left the van so I felt too mean to say no. It was also 26 degrees that day and it is a very good splashpad.
After she’d dried off and got changed back at the van, we had a walk around the lake before returning to the van for tea on the grass outside.
Later that evening we walked to Campbell Park and admired the view from the Light Pyramid. The views are great from up there. There was also an African Music festival taking place in the Amphitheatre.
Andy joined us later in Saturday and Sunday we explored more of the city on our bikes, stopping frequently at the many playgrounds.
Gullivers Land Theme Park Resort (Milton Keynes)
Sunday afternoon was really hot and we were parked next to the Log Flume at Gullivers Land Theme Park Resort.
Hearing the screams and the splashing water tempted us to visit. We paid half price entry as we entered so late but we were disappointed to learn that Gullivers Dinosaur & Farm Park (which touches the Theme Park) is in fact a separate park altogether and requires its own separate ticket. Still, we managed to fit in 6 rides and a few minutes playing in the ball pit, so it worked out about £2 a ride so not actually bad value. In hindsight we both wished we’d spent the £25 entrance fee on the Carnotaurus Dinosaur toy that Abi has wanted for ages, and then just poured some tap water over our heads to cool down.
Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire)
We decided to pop into Leighton Buzzard on our way home to see what was there. It’s a very pretty little town, but it doesn’t take long to wander around.
