Olney man wins Parks Trust Photography competition

The winner of the Parks Trust 2014 photography competition has now been announced as being Jim Key from Olney, with an amazing photograph of the frozen Grand Union canal in winter. The photograph was taken from the bridge adjoining Stonepit field in Great Linford, and captures the sunrise coming up through the trees. The image is truly picturesque; the untouched snow on the roof of the house and canal boats, as well as the frozen canal, all look so fresh and untouched, it could be a painting.

As well as the overall winner, there were prizes for the categories of:

• Wildlife (won by Jo Angell)
• Parklife (also won by Jim Key with the same image)
• Landscape (won by Tim Skelton)
• young persons category (won by Eden Albiston)

The winning images and all short-listed images will be showcase this June at Milton Keynes Central Library, don't forget to go along and take a look!

Winner of the Parks Trust competition, Jim Key

B & MK Waterway Trust

The waterways have been a key feature to Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas over the years, providing important navigational arteries through which goods and people have travelled. The roots of the Bedford-Milton Keynes Canal go back over 200 years to October 1811, when a group of Bedford businessmen met with the Mayor of Bedford to discuss the linking benefits.

Nearly 200 years on, in 1994, Bedford resident Brian Young had the idea of getting the canal built as part of the new millennium celebrations. The idea was to have a 'waterway for all' which could improve the quality of the local environment, serving the new industries of leisure, tourism and communications. The B & MK (Bedford and Milton Keynes) Waterway Trust was established in 1995 to promote the development of this broad waterway linking the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes to the river Great Ouse in Bedford.

The waterway is set to be a 20 mile link between the River Great Ouse at Kempston in Bedford and Grand Union Canal at Newlands in Milton Keynes. It's a long process set to take up to 20 years, but the first steps are underway.

The new canal route would provide a range of social and economic benefits...

• Recreation: on water and off water activities, including boating
• Green infrastructure- Creation of natural corridors and environmental benefits 
• Regeneration and property- attractive waterfront, appealing to local housing
• Ecosystem services- help in controlling flooding
• Transport- particularly for freight movements
• Tourism- contributing to increase in visitors to the area

Do you like the idea of linking the Grand Union Canal to Bedford? Tell us your views, we'd love to hear what you think! 

For more information, visit the Trust's website.

Phonebox Walk

Hooray for another bank holiday weekend! It seems only yesterday we were off for Easter, not that we're complaining, and now it's already the first May bank holiday. We've got our fingers crossed for some nice weather this weekend, and if we get lucky with that, why not give our Phonebox walk a try? You can follow the link to the interactive magazine here, or have a flick through your hard copy if you've got one (which might be easier so you can take it out with you and not get lost!)

This month we've got a nice 5 mile walk for you, which should take around 2 hours and takes you through countryside and along the canal and riverside to Cosgrove. We hope this walk inspires you to try others of your own, and to explore and make the most of the lovely places surrounding Milton Keynes where you can walk and enjoy picturesque scenery. Keep your eyes peeled for next month's Phonebox walk, or if you can't wait until then, why not flick back to a few of the old copies and try a few of those walks?! Enjoy!