Friendships grow through shared experiences so here is a list of places to hang out together and have some memorable fun.

Places to go

•    Bedford Butterfly Park near Wilden – if you don’t drive then there’s a bus from the town centre that goes straight there.
www.bedford-butterflies.co.uk
•    Danish Camp Willington go for brunch or lunch- they have a full diary of events too - cheques and cash only – food is freshly prepared so can take a while www.danishcamp.co.uk
•    Frosts at Willington have a great coffee shop too
•    Hire a bike from Priory Marina and cycle along the river to the Danish Camp
•    Bar Citrus in town has board games behind the counter, have a drink and play connect4 !
•    MK Theatre has great shows and isn’t as expensive as you might think. They have a sing-a-long-sound of music in April!!! FAB FAB FAB FAB www.theambassadors.com/miltonkeynes
•    Priory Marina - take a walk around the lake and then pop in to the restaurant for a pint!
•    Harold Country Park – Walk, coffee and cake.
•    Bowling - still great fun
•    Quasar –Serious fun with a laser gun - be that child within www.bedfordquasar.co.uk
•    Salcey Forest - Has a fabulous ‘Tree-top walk’, 300 metres long and 20 metres up in the trees. There are lookout towers, a rope bridge over a pond and special disabled access. There is a snackery at weekends, but take a flask and a ball of string just in case. www.forestry.gov.uk/salceyforest
•    Stanwick lakes – Northamptonshire straight up the A6 - Google it for a map- Fab for kids – take your wellies and be prepared to get wet
•    Wickstead Park – Slides, go-carts, parkland and a real great day out. A real fun for everyone experience www.wicksteedpark.co.uk
•    Afternoon tea at the Swan – not as expensive as you might think and the cakes are yummy
•    Other stuff around – Go-Karting in MK, Toboggan for £15 at the Snowdome MK, Skydive at Airkix MK, Gulliver’s Land MK,  GO:MK!!

Other Creative Ideas

•    Meet up once a month at a cafe with a jazz night
•    Have a creative memories evening at home (talk to Greta Davies)
•    Have a first Thurs in the month 8pm lads or girls meet 'down the pub', regularity is great for friendship.
•    Start a gourmet dining club, meet at a different house each time, different people bring different courses, drinks etc everyone contributes something and the food needs to be fab obviously! Think up other types of eating clubs, meet every other month?

•    Go for a day away to lifediscovery.com
40 acres of farmland and £120,000 of pure entertainment equipment.
(spa days; all included in the price facials pedicures manicures massage heated pool Jacuzzi in a luxury farmhouse and multiactivity days;quadbike jetski,donut rides go carting and watersports with 2 meals and talks on what is the meaning of life) Cost £30 each
 
•    Virgin V or Bodyshop party (Contact:  
•    Organise a Pampered chef evening, great food demonstration and then you eat it!
•    Organise a Bodyflight (free fall in vertical wind tunnel) event in Clapham
•    Paint balling - challenge another small group to a game
•    Be a culture vulture, organise a trip to the theatre or to a local drama group (tickets are much cheaper) Or a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture park or to an evening at Tate Modern in London (the Tate is free).
•    Organise a quiz night
•    Girls night in with chocolate fountain
•    Go to your allotment ( if you have one) at the same time each week and take some coffee and a home made yummy to offer someone
•    Heard someone has had a baby? Or a terrible shock or illness? Offer to do them a few meals as a small group- this is part of our normal church culture but its an unusual thing outside the church- and it makes a big impact.
•    Start a book club, the library will provide multiple copies of the same book for a book group for free. They just need to be ordered ahead of time. Meet in a pub or home. You can choose to meet once every 4, 6 or 8 weeks.


(With thanks to Paul Kellet)