Postgraduate Student Life

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes (commonly referred to by everyone as “MK”) is a very green city with more than 22 million trees and shrubs, 200 parks, 15 beautiful lakes and 11 miles of canals. Dotted by a lot of green areas, MK is perfect when you feel too stressed by your work. You can simply pop out for a bit and enjoy the beauty of the nature in every season of the year using the 180 miles of cycle tracks, bridleways and footpaths. If this is not enough, the Grand Union Canal passes through the centre of MK and so canal boats are another possibility to relax yourself!

The infamous grid roads connect all the areas of MK and keep traffic away from the residential and recreational areas getting the benefit of enjoining the peace and silence of your house after a hard day at the university!

However, city life is never too far from you. Thanks to the same grid roads, the extensive bus network and cycle paths (known as “redways”) you can safely and efficiently reach the city centre where you can join to the many community events and experience many indoor activities, including:

• XScape contains a 170 m indoor ski slope with real snow, a 16-screen cinema, a trampoline park, an indoor swimming pool, bars and restaurants and many other activities.
• The Centre:MK : with over 220 shops and restaurants this shopping centre is arranged along two parallel arcades planted with temperate and sub-tropical trees.
• Milton Keynes Theatre has a varied year-round programme of London shows, touring productions and music.
• MK Gallery is a public gallery partnered up with Tate containing constantly changing contemporary and visual exhibitions.
• Stadium:MK is a 30,000 seats stadium, home to MK Dons Football Club and hosts many high profile national and international sporting events.
• Other activities around the city include: indoor rock climbing and bouldering, mini golf, escape rooms and safari park.

Travel

Milton Keynes has many different bus lines that connect all the areas of the city, more than one taxi companies that can take you where you most desire and an efficient, but a bit more expensive, uber service.

Milton Keynes is located within day-trip distance of London, Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge. A train journey to London is only 30 minutes and is around £10 return with a student railcard, and a return trip to Oxford or Cambridge on the X5 bus is less than 2 hours and is around £14.

In just 1.40 hour by fast train you can also reach the vibrant city of Manchester that is also the perfect base for a day trip to the famous peak district, the first national park in the UK. A return ticket to Manchester is around £30 with a student railcard.

MK is served by Junctions 13 and 14 on the M1, so for those with a car, it’s very easy to get away.

Luton Airport can be reached in 30 minutes by car or in 40 minutes by bus. A bus ticket one way is less than £7 for local busses (Line 99) or national express busses (using student coach card discount).

OU Campus

Taught courses at the Open University are online or distance learning courses and therefore we have no undergraduates or taught postgraduate students on campus. We do, however, still have a dynamic and busy campus full of academic staff, researchers, research students and support staff.

At the OU there are a wide range of clubs, events and activities that you can get involved with. From Amateur Radio to Orchestra and Chamber Music, Fencing to Ultimate Frisbee, Astronomy to Gardening and Theatre to trips, the list goes on and on.

The OU Clubs website has the details of all the clubs, events and discounts available to you.