HUDDERSFIELD Town fans heading off to Milton Keynes for the play-off semi-final ought to take their bikes with them if they’re staying for the weekend.

Any fans not exhausted by last week’s 260-mile Pedal for Pounds ride can explore the Buckinghamshire town’s 350km of cycle routes after Saturday’s game against MK Dons.

There is far more to Milton Keynes than its famed concrete cows. The iconic artworks were created in 1978 by Canadian-born artist Liz Leyh and are displayed in Milton Keynes Shopping Centre. Replicas are sited next to the A422 Monks Way dual carriageway.

The three cows and three calves, approximately half life-size, are constructed from fibreglass reinforced concrete.

Milton Keynes is a Mecca for families wanting lots of activities.

It was made a town less than 50 years ago, after World War Two, to accommodate the population overflowing from London.

Getting around MK – as it’s known to locals – is done via a grid road system, similar to that used in New York City.

Off-road bike and walking paths known as Redways cover more than 350km and take cyclists and walkers through some of the beautiful countryside which makes up the area.

Bletchley Park is MK’s biggest heritage attraction. It’s where mathematicians worked to crack enemy codes during the war and, according to Sir Winston Churchill, shortened it by a couple of years.

The existence of the park remained an official secret until the early 1990s as it was vital to the UK’s security.

More than 20 million trees were planted when the town was created and lakes made, which have enabled a host of water-based activities including wake-boarding, sailing and fishing.

The city has a range of museums, with the most famous being Milton Keynes Museum. The exhibits are popular with children due to their ‘hands on’ nature.

Gulliver’s Land theme park and Gulliver’s Dino and Farm Park, which includes a SplashZone, provides plenty of activity for the family.

Ice-skating, bowling, cycling on the Redways, water activities at Willen Lake, tobogganing on real snow at SNO!zone, high ropes, cinema, mini-golf, an art trail and even an indoor sky dive all offer entertainment for the family.

There are over 400 shops, a cathedral, the MK theatre and MK gallery.

Resident Marion Hill recently interviewed local people about their memories of the city.

Samuel Wong said that everybody is a foreigner in Milton Keynes.

“Due to the sense of superiority of native-born people, racism is a common phenomenon in Britain,’’ he claimed.

“But I don’t think it is as common here as in other cities because there were not many native-born people in Milton Keynes.

“We are all foreigners in Milton Keynes.”

Resident Sandra Page said the new town has everything you would always want.

“Milton Keynes is absolutely wonderful,’’ she said. “We’ve got that theatre, we’ve got everything we want.

“The planning of the greenery is beautiful.’’

To find out more information visit www.livingarchive.org.uk or www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk