Sunflowers are a bit of a summer fling, aren’t they? Bloomin’ beautiful, bright and bold and then they disappear come September. I’m sure that you won’t be surprised to hear that they are my favourite flower! They make me smile so much and I just LOVE when they are in season. Now we can all explore a little bit further afield and venture out, I thought I’d share one of Milton Keynes’ hottest new spots this summer – The Patch MK!
Whether you have children to entertain, photos to snap, or just want to get lost in the fields of gold for an afternoon, this post is for you.
What is The Patch MK?
You may remember The Pumpkin Patch MK from last October, situated at Mount Mill Farm just past Deanshanger. This year, they’ve rebranded to ‘The Patch MK’ because they’ve been growing giant sunflowers in their fields! (Though don’t worry – Pumpkins will be back this Autumn!)
There is a gigantic field of sunflowers to get lost in, giving you plenty of photo opportunities for the ‘gram or with kids. I had so much fun shooting some summery photos amongst these yellow giants with Kaye.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, you will have to pre-book your place this year so The Patch doesn’t become too busy. Personally, I prefer to book as it’s less of a free for all. Tickets start at £2.95 and they suggest staying for two hours.
Things to do at The Patch MK
Other than exploring the HUGE sunflower field, there’s a lot of stuff to do at The Patch for families, making it a really good morning or afternoon out. It’s about a 20 minute drive from Central Milton Keynes, and even closer if you live in Stony Stratford, Wolverton, Buckingham and Deanshanger.
Take your sunflowers home
Due to social distancing, you won’t be able to cut your own sunflowers this year, however, there are sunflowers for you to purchase and take home. As well as sunflowers, you will also be able to buy beautiful sheafs of wheat which look so pretty!
Haybales!
Okay, so this one is definitely for the kids, but the Bale Mountain is a great photo opportunity! Climb the bale mountain and see sunflowers stretching out before you – it’s a great view. There are also hay bales dotted along the middle of The Patch.
Sweetcorn Maize
There’s a patch of sweetcorn too! Another great spot for photos, getting lost in and you will be able to enjoy fresh BBQ’d sweetcorn, fresh from the farm.
Food & Drink
You’ll find a food court at The Patch serving cold drinks, ice cream, BBQ corn, burgers and sausages.
Fun for kids
The Patch is really built with kids in mind – there’s so much space to run about and there are barrel train rides too! The 1947 tractor amongst the wheatfield provides some great photo opportunities and I think anyone of any age will enjoy running through the field of wheat (Theresa May eat your heart out…)
If you want to find out more about The Patch from a parents’ perspective, Jenny at The Outdoors Mum wrote a fabulous blog post all about why it’s great for families, so do check that out.
Other places to see sunflowers near Milton Keynes
I thought I’d share some suggestions of other places that you can find sunflowers – and later on this year, pumpkins – near Milton Keynes. They’re not as close to MK as The Patch, but worth a look and come recommended by friends and followers who have visited.
- Overstone Grange Farm, Northampton – Open for sunflowers and Pumpkins in Autumn. Find out more on Nicole Navigates’ blog.
- Farmer Paul’s, Weedon – Open currently for sunflowers and Pumpkins coming in Autumn!
- The Pop-Up Farm, St. Albans – Sunflowers TBC as it is currently closed due to construction work. Pumpkins will be back in autumn.
The Patch MK is located at Mount Mill Farm, Milton Keynes, MK19 6DG. Pre-booking is essential and more spaces will be released, but hurry, they go fast and the sunflowers won’t be around forever! Visit www.thepatchmk.co.uk to book.
Have you visited The Patch MK this summer? Tag your photos with my hashtag, #EatandExploreMiltonKeynes, on Instagram so I can see them!
